The Dark Backward
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: Takes place between Best Laid Plans and Sympathy For De Vil, during the Storybrooke events in Heart of Gold. Maleficent has finally learned the truth about what happened to her daughter and seeks retaliation against Emma in order to hurt David and Mary Margaret. Meanwhile... Emma is deeply angry with her parents. So when tragedy occurs, she lashes out wrongly against Maleficent.
1. Chapter 1

The Dark Backward

Chapter One

Emma, David, and Mary Margaret continued searching for the Author for well over an hour despite the dark and lateness of the hour after he ran from them into the woods surrounding the Sorcerer's mansion once the Savior released him from his prison inside the page of the storybook. Emma was determined to find him, especially the more her parents started telling her it was getting late and that they should head back into town to try to get some sleep before they continued on with their search in the morning. However, their daughter just ignored them until at last she stopped long enough for them to catch up to her.

 _Despite his shortness of breath from running in effort to keep up with her, he called out asking, "The Author… where is he?"_

 _While she kept scanning woods around them, Emma replied, "We lost him."_

 _"We know him, Emma," Mary Margaret then said apprehensively after she quickly glanced over at her husband, then turned back to Emma again._

 _"What?" their daughter curtly questioned as she immediately turned around to face them again._

 _Her mother saw and heard Emma's anger still geared towards them on account of the dark secret they finally admitted to her about what they had done to Maleficent and the villainess' child, but she continued worryingly, "We met him a long time ago, before you were born. He, um…"_

 _When she stopped again, unsure of how she should really explain what she knew she and her husband needed to despite how angry Emma already was at them, her husband finished for her, "…manipulated us. It's because of him we were put on the path to causing Maleficent to lose her child."_

 _"It's true," Mary Margaret added._

 _"No," the Savior angrily retorted as she glared between both of her parents. "No, what's true is no matter how you were manipulated, you still did what you did, and you lied to me about it! You've been lying to me about everything! About you, about me…"_

 _David interrupted, "That's not the case. It's one incident from our past."_

 _Emma looked at him while she responded coldly, "Don't downplay it."_

 _"Well… we've changed," Mary Margaret stated again in hers and her husband's defense. "We've tried to become the parents you deserve."_

 _"I am only the Savior because you altered the entire state of my being at the expense of someone else's soul," their daughter answered in despair over what they had done._

 _Upon him finally and truly understanding her disappointment in them, her father honestly replied, "You're right. What we did… it was wrong. But we… We didn't fully understand what we were doing. We acted out of fear. We're human."_

 _Emma looked between them again as she responded, "Yeah, well… right now I don't care. None of that matters now. We have to find that Author before Gold does."_

"Emma…" David started to say again, until Emma swiftly cut him off once she turned her back to them like she had done before, making it clear to them she was done talking about this.

"I'm calling Killian and Henry," she uttered in frustration, then pulled out her phone from her coat pocket and quickly dialed her boyfriend's number. "We're never going to be able to find the Author without a little more help. I'm not ready to give up yet."

Once Hook answered and heard Emma ask him for help, he immediately left his ship and ran back into town from the harbor to pick up Henry at Regina's, then together the two of them made their way out into the woods in order to meet up with the woman he loved and her parents at the well so they could continue on with their search for the Author.

Another few hours passed and there still was no sign of him. The Savior's son and her parents caught up to Emma and Killian again, then all of them finally agreed it was time for them to call it a night. Each of them hoped the Author was still just hiding somewhere within the woods since the Charmings knew he had once been a peddler within the Enchanted Forest from their first meeting many years ago. However, deep down they also feared they were too late and that Gold had found him before they could.

While the others walked on ahead of them as they made their way back into town, Killian reached out to hold Emma back by taking her arm, then hand into his own once she was looking at him and he spoke softly to her saying, "Look, love… I know you're still deeply upset with your parents and you're thinking you failed now that the Author's gotten away because you didn't have your mind cleared of your anger towards them, but you're wrong. Him getting away isn't your fault and even if Gold has found him, we will stop him from succeeding in whatever it is he has planned. That's what you told me this morning… remember?"

 _She tenderly embraced him upon seeing the worry for her in his eyes just as she had seen earlier that morning when he first arrived at the loft, and she held him close to her for comfort while she briefly thought back to that moment as she heard herself asking him, "_ _Killian, what's wrong?"_

 _"Before Ursula left, she told me what the villains have planned," he answered her out of worry. "To get their happy endings, they intend to darken your heart, love. To turn you into a villain so you'll no longer be the Savior."_

 _"What?" Henry questioned with confusion while he, Emma, Mary Margaret, and David all kept their eyes on him. "You can't just un-Savior the Savior."_

 _Killian looked over at the boy and then between Emma and her parents as he continued on, "Ursula said Gold has a way. He can use The Author to do it."_

 _Emma stared at him with disbelief on her face until she assuredly replied, "If that's what their plan is, stop worrying. It's ridiculous. Author or no Author, I am not going dark."_

 _"But darkness is a funny thing," he responded to her again as his fear for her and disdain for himself came across his face, being unable to hide his emotions any longer. "It creeps up in you."_

 _"Hey, no one… not Rumplestiltskin or some Author… gets to decide who I am," the Savior answered him again, as she walked over to stand in front of him and softened her eyes while she looked deep into his._

 _Emma had gently touched his face in hope of putting his mind at ease before she pulled him into a hug as he wrapped his arms around her as well, while her parents whispered amongst themselves, then walked out of the apartment, clearly upset about Hook's news, or possibly something else. She had been too busy trying to comfort Killian to notice her parents' own discomfort and the secretive looks they shared amongst one another then._

After she took a few seconds to remember that moment she shared with Killian as she had comforted him like he's always done for her, Emma pulled her head back again so she could look up into Killian's eyes and then she said quietly, "I do. And you're right. We will stop Gold and the Author. I'm just upset. My parents don't really seem to be grasping how terrible their actions really were. I mean… maybe they do, but they certainly don't seem like they do. You know… I understand why Maleficent is so angry at us. Especially at Mom and Dad. They kidnapped her child, Killian. They kidnapped her baby, and stole all goodness within it to put it inside of me. Now… there's a child out there full of potential darkness and all alone. And yesterday, both of them were far too easily willing to believe in the possibility that Ursula had turned you back to your old self again. I couldn't believe it. After all you've done to become the hero you are now… that they could think you are capable of being a villain again while they knew damn well why one of these villains working for Gold are here standing against us…"

Killian finally cut her off when he sadly replied, "In case you've forgotten, Emma… I almost did lose myself and became the man I used to be."

"But you didn't, Killian," the woman he loved responded determinedly, while she reached up to his face and began to caress his cheek. "You're so quick to sell yourself short, but I know you. I know you're a good man and that you never could go back to being the man you used to be. You told me so yourself. Back when you were trapped under Zelena's control when she cursed your lips to try to hurt me."

"I remember," the Captain gently answered her. "My point is, I understand why they believed in the possibility. I don't hold it against them for it. You aren't ready to forgive them just yet… I understand that too. Which is why I won't push you, until I can sense you're ready to hear me out. Now, it's getting late. It is late, and a bit colder than it was. You should head home and try to get some sleep."

Emma looked at him again like he was crazy as she replied, "Home? You mean to where my parents are? I don't think so. At least not tonight. I can't be anywhere around them right now because I'm still far too angry with them for what they did and then for lying to me about it. I'm also angry that I didn't trust my superpower enough to believe they were lying to me all this time. Even after you asked me a few days ago if I believed they could lie to me. I just… of all people, I never thought they would."

Killian wanted to defend her parents, but knowing Emma wouldn't accept anything he could say about them, instead he leaned in to kiss her on her tenderly on her forehead and then he responded, "Well… you could come to stay aboard the Jolly Roger if you'd like. Not… not with me of course, but you could… take my quarters and I can get myself a room at… at Granny's."

"Killian, I wouldn't be opposed to sleeping with you," she whispered as she looked into his eyes again and smiled. "Now may not be the right time, but know that if I were to take you up on that offer, I would want you there with me. It's very sweet. I can get a room at Granny's too if I need one, but I should just suck it up and bear it. And I'm going to. Besides, you've been without your ship all these months because you traded it for me. You deserve to stay with it."

"If you insist," he answered when he smiled back at her, then together they slowly started making their way back into town.

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the Charmings' loft, Emma walked around Killian so she was facing him and laid her hands up against his chest, then she stated, "Try not to worry about me so much. I'll be alright, Killian. I promise you. As for the Author, and Gold… we just have to hope Gold hasn't discovered we've released the Author from the page yet. And if he has, and he's taken the Author into hiding so he can make some kind of deal with him, we'll figure out how to stop them. Now… go on. Get some sleep yourself."

Killian nodded and leaned in again to kiss her lips, then he pulled back a little as he whispered, "Aye. As you wish. Sleep well, Swan. If you need me, for anything… you know where I'll be. Good night."

After he kissed her tenderly once more and she kissed him in return, the Savior turned away from him and the pirate watched her climb the stairs up to her apartment, then waited until she was safe inside before he finally left to head back to his ship for the night. Unfortunately, he didn't get further than Marco's garage when he was suddenly rendered unconscious by a wave of magic that struck him from behind just as he sensed he was being followed. Once he collapsed against the ground, Maleficent stepped out from the shadows where the street lights couldn't reach with her staff in hand and she walked over to stand above him, then waved her hand as she and Killian both vanished within a thick cloud of dark purple smoke.


	2. Chapter 2

The Dark Backward

Chapter Two

Once Emma walked inside the apartment she shared with her parents and sometimes her son who also often stayed with his adopted mother as well, David and Mary Margaret turned to face her as she walked past them towards the stairs leading up to her bed within the loft without saying a word. Mary Margaret wanted to say something to her… to say to her something that would help their daughter to forgive them, but David understood a little easier how much Emma needed space and time to allow for their past sin to sink in. So, he laid his hand gently on his wife's shoulder to stop her from trying to talk to Emma again and the Savior continued up to her room while they finally focused on Neal again so they could put him to bed for the night.

Henry had returned to Regina's for the night, so when she climbed the last step, she was alone again and she was grateful she was. Emma sat down on her bed and pulled off her coat she had been wearing most of the night while they were searching the woods, then she leaned down so she could pull off her boots she was also wearing. She stood up again, pulled off her jeans and blouse until she was wearing nothing but her bra and underwear, walked over to her dresser to take out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt she could wear to bed, then pulled them on before she sat down on her bed again, reached out to turn off the light of her lamp on her nightstand, and laid down with the back of her head on her pillow.

Emma stared up at the ceiling hoping that sleep would eventually fall over her despite the sounds and lights coming up from the main room below her. She listened while her parents talked quietly between themselves, except she could hardly make out most of what they were saying. Honestly, she didn't want to hear what they were talking about. She wanted nothing to do with them even though she knew how irrational she was being towards them. She just didn't care.

She hadn't been laying down long before her phone beeped to indicate she had received a message, so she quickly sat up as she reached over to her nightstand again to pick up her phone and then she laid back once more while she opened the message to read it, finding a text from Henry, who was asking her if she was okay. Emma smiled, then immediately she texted him back to let him know she was fine and that he needn't worry about her.

A few more messages were sent back and forth between them before she finally said good night to her son, but before she could set it back down on her nightstand, another message came through and this time she saw it was from Killian. She smiled upon seeing his name light up on her screen. However, when she opened the message, Emma quickly sat up once again while she read it with dread. The Savior tossed her phone onto her bed and immediately pulled her pants and boots back on, grabbed her phone and coat again, then she ran back downstairs towards the door to leave until her father suddenly reached out to grab her arm to stop her.

"Emma… what is it?" he asked while he did so, as she glanced between him and her mother again. "What's wrong?"

"Killian's in trouble," she curtly responded and swiftly yanked her arm away to free herself. "I just got a message coming from his phone, but it wasn't from him. It's from Maleficent. She has him and she wants me to come out to meet her."

David took her phone to read the message when she showed it to them, as he read aloud for his wife to hear, " _I have your pirate, Savior. If you wish for him to remain alive and unharmed, come to talk with me alone down in the caves where you slayed me in my dragon form some time ago. Hook and I will be waiting for you._ "

After David finished, Mary Margaret looked at her daughter again while she said fearfully, "Emma, you can't go. She's luring you into a trap."

The Savior glared at her as she answered, "I don't care if it's a trap. I can take care of myself. And besides, Maleficent can't hurt me, anymore than Zelena could before. I'm the Savior, remember? So long as I have my powers, I'm perfectly safe. Killian isn't."

"Then I'm coming with you," her father adamantly replied when he started towards the coat rack by the door to grab his own jacket again.

"No… I'm going alone," Emma retorted. "That's what she wants. Besides, I can't trust you right now. Don't follow me."

With that said, she rushed out the door and slammed it behind her, then Mary Margaret walked over to where she had tossed her own phone onto her bed as well and started to text a message while she stated worryingly, "I'm texting Regina so she can meet her down in the caves instead. She may not be able to be killed by dark magic, but she can still be killed. Emma may not trust us to look after her right now, but I won't let her confront Maleficent alone with that sorceress being determined to seek revenge against all of us because of what we did to her."

After a few minutes, David turned back to his wife again after he finished helping Neal fall asleep inside his crib and asked, "Did she answer you yet?"

The Princess shook her head worryingly as she responded, "She's not. It's not like her not to answer her phone unless she's angry with us and as far as I know, she's not. David, we have to go after her."

"I'll go," he answered her, as he quickly pulled on his jacket, then kissed his wife before he went to the door to leave. "Stay here with Neal and try not to worry. I'll get a few people to back me up. She's going to be fine, Mary Margaret. So will I."

"I hope so," Mary Margaret whispered fearfully to herself once her husband left to go after their daughter despite Emma wishes for them not to.

A few minutes later…

Emma walked inside the town library and quickly entered the elevator which descended down into the vast caves beneath the streets and the woods surrounding Storybrooke. She had no idea what to expect from Maleficent. She only hoped the sorceress had kept true to her word that she wouldn't hurt Killian.

Once the elevator finally stopped at the bottom of the shaft, the Savior cautiously stepped out into the wide open cavern where she had fought Maleficent in her dragon form nearly two years ago. Strangely enough, with all that's happened with the number of villains the heroes have fought against and the people they have saved, Emma almost couldn't believe it's only been just under two years since then.

However, her mind wasn't really focused on the time that has passed, but solely on Killian and her doing whatever it took to get him back from this villainess, who she soon found to be wearing her all black gown and horns that stayed true to her character from the Disney movie based on hers and Princess Aurora's fairytale characters she remembered seeing a long time ago when she was a little girl, when Maleficent stood before the Savior as she approached her.

The sorceress spoke first saying, "I knew kidnapping your boyfriend would be the fastest way I could get you to come to me alone."

Emma kept her eyes on the villainess while she asked darkly, "Where's Hook? I want to see him. You better not have hurt him."

"I told you I wouldn't hurt the pirate so long as you kept your own word and it appears that you have," Maleficent coolly replied, then she turned her head to look behind her and waved her hand to make Killian appear among them as well, as Emma saw he was unconscious while he laid on his side against the rocky ground and bound by leather straps with his arms tied behind his back. "Don't worry… he's perfectly unharmed as I promised. He's just asleep until my spell wears off, which shouldn't be long now."

"Okay," the Savior responded, then turned back to Maleficent once again when she was satisfied enough upon seeing Killian apparently unharmed like she said. "So… what do you want from me? Your text mentioned you just wanted to talk?"

The other woman nodded and then answered, "I did. I wanted to know if your parents ever told you about a particularly dark encounter between them and me thirty years ago before Regina's dark curse swept over us? Did they ever tell you why I hate them so much and why the revenge I seek is on them?"

Emma remained before the villain while she calmly, yet coldly replied, "They did actually. Just tonight in fact. You being brought back to life again and you putting all of us asleep under your sleeping spell today really backed them into a corner. They knew it would come out eventually, so they told me before I found out from you instead… like I would have right now had they not told me. It didn't make it any less difficult to hear though. Is that what you wanted? For me to turn against them? I may be angry with them and I may not trust them any longer, but that doesn't mean you've succeeded in turning my heart dark like you, Gold, and Cruella want either. I'm perfectly in control of whatever darkness might reside within my heart."

"Because you still have people here like Hook and your son who care about you and who are doing everything to help protect your heart," Maleficent responded quietly. "I realize that Gold's plan isn't going to work as he hoped it would. You are strong, Savior. And I admire that in you."

"For what it's worth, Maleficent… I am sorry for what my parents did to you and to your child," Emma said again out of remorse that the sorceress could tell was sincere. "It was wrong and…"

However, the villainess abruptly cut her off as she interrupted angrily, "It's because of you my daughter was stolen from me! That all I feel is the pain of losing her! All these years, I believed she was dead because of what Snow White and Prince Charming did to me, and until Gold showed me through magic my child was a girl, I never even knew what I had when she was born all those years ago. Thirty years! You have no idea how it feels to only feel that kind of pain. And neither do your parents. At least not with the pain of believing their child to be dead."

All of a sudden, Maleficent knew talking wasn't all she wanted from the Savior in that moment any longer, and so her eyes darkened as she summoned the magic of the purple crystal atop of her staff while she continued, "I did bring you down here so we could talk, Emma. But seeing as you already know the truth, then this talk is pointless. It's time your mother and father feel the kind of pain I felt."

Emma raised her hands in front of her to defend herself against whatever dark magic the sorceress was about to fire at her by her own power. However, as soon as Maleficent fired the ball of light at her, the Savior was suddenly shoved backwards hard against the cold, rocky ground. Only her head didn't strike the ground, as she had been protected by the hand of the person who protected her. And when she weakly opened her eyes once her breath from being barreled into came back to her while she turned her eyes to see who was now lying completely still on top of her, the Savior was terrified to discover it was Killian. Especially knowing the dark magic had stuck him instead.

"No!" Emma screamed out in fear as she struggled to pull him off of her, then carefully laid him down against the ground beneath him while Maleficent remained standing nearby with a look of surprise on her face by the pirate's sacrifice. "Killian! Killian, wake up! No… please!"

"It appears that your pirate is rather resourceful when the woman he loves is placed in harm's way," the sorceress stated when she turned her head to look behind her again and found the leather straps she had bound him with were cut through and left lying where Hook had been moments earlier, then she turned back to the woman weeping over him now. "How very brave of him. It's hard to imagine he was once every bit the villain I am. Now Hook is just weak and pathetic. Which is why there's nothing you can do for him now, Savior. I'm afraid he's dead. My magic would have only rendered you to a death like state which would have made your parents believe I had succeeded in killing you, until it was eventually discovered you were still very much alive and trapped within the darkness of the back of your own mind. My magic isn't powerful enough to kill you because of what you are, but him… Hook had no magic to protect him. That's why it killed him. I wish I could kill you, but then perhaps this really is better after all. You once killed me and your parents tried to kill my daughter. It's only fair I make you all suffer and his death is only the beginning. I can't kill you, but your brother…"

Emma held Killian's body in her arms with tears streaming down her cheeks while the villainess ranted, until the Savior couldn't take her threat made against her brother and her parents on top of losing the man she had yet to be able to admit she loved out loud. She carefully laid him back down on the ground and stood again on her feet as she turned to face Maleficent again before she could finish, with anger and a darkness in her eyes the villainess never thought she would see in the eyes of the Savior. A darkness which shook her to her core.

Emma then answered angrily, "I won't let you hurt anyone else I love ever again. If destroying you means I lose myself and stop being the Savior, then so be it."

"You villains wanted to darken my heart… Congratulations," she added darkly as Maleficent summoned her power through the palms of her hands, then the Savior summoned her own magic to fight her. "It looks like you've succeeded."

Before either woman thought about the consequences of their actions, Maleficent released her power against Emma, while the Savior unleashed her own against the sorceress too and their magic clashed together between them as they struggled to strengthen their power until one of them was at last struck down.

Neither of them noticed the Dark One hidden amongst the shadows behind one of the boulders while he watched on with fascination at the outcome of their confrontation, until he raised a magic wand and suddenly summoned its own power to use against theirs. Within only a matter of seconds, the three powers ignited together and burst causing a portal to somewhere unknown to open up too close to Emma and Maleficent, as they were both forced through it along with Hook's body.

"Emma!" David suddenly shouted out in fear upon seeing them being pulled into the open portal once the elevator made its way down into the cave while he, Tinker Bell, and Leroy all rushed out too late to save her and Hook, as Gold immediately vanished again before the others found him there.


	3. Chapter 3

The Dark Backward

Chapter Three

After they had witnessed Emma and Hook falling through the portal with Maleficent down in the cave beneath the library, David, Tink, and Leroy had to return to the loft so they could try to explain to Mary Margaret what happened the best they could without knowing anything about how it happened at all. So David could explain to his wife he'd been too late to protect their daughter. He knew it would crush his wife, especially with Emma now being trapped somewhere unknown believing she couldn't count on her parents to fight to get her back.

When the Prince and his friends arrived, they walked inside and found Mary Margaret and Henry standing over a box set out on top of the table containing Emma's things from when she was a baby including her blanket, as she was going through it upon pulling it out from underneath her bed after David left to go after her. The box also now held things from since Emma arrived in Storybrooke and had broken the first curse over them including a scrapbook she had made containing pictures of her with Henry, with them and Neal, with Killian, and others too.

However, when the door opened and the Princess saw her husband enter with the Green Fairy and Leroy without their daughter, she saw the concern in his eyes as she looked at him worryingly while she asked, "David? Is Emma alright? Where is she?"

David moved to stand in front of his wife and reached down to take her hands into his own, then he despondently answered, "Something's happened. Something… something I'm not sure how to explain. We arrived too late, so we didn't see Emma's confrontation with Maleficent. We don't know how it happened, but… I'm afraid she and Hook have been pulled through a portal that somehow opened up during what I can only assume had been a fight that took place between her and Maleficent. Maleficent went through too. I don't know where they are, but I'm sure Emma's okay, Mary Margaret. She's strong. And she isn't alone. She's with Hook. You know he'll keep her safe."

"How did a portal just open up and pull them into it?" she questioned fearfully, as David pulled her tenderly into his arms and held her close. "Portals don't do that unless someone created one like Zelena did when she created her time travel spell, or used a magic bean to open one like Tamara did to escape from Emma and Neal during their fight last year. Maleficent did this to her, David. She had to. But why?"

"If she did, I doubt she was counting on being pulled in herself," Grumpy contently replied.

Tinker Bell also spoke as she responded, "We should call Regina. She may be the only one who could help us try piece together what might have happened."

Mary Margaret pulled back a little from her husband while she shook her head and answered, "Henry and I have been trying to call her ever since Emma and David left. I can't get ahold of her."

"I was just about to go talk to Belle to see if she's heard at all from Gold," the teenager replied, as he worried about both of his mothers. "Or if she knows where we might be able to find Cruella. One of them have to be behind why Mom isn't answering any of our calls. I mean… it's possible she might still be undercover with them and can't answer her phone, but…"

"She's always found a way to contact us before, especially when it's important," David finished for him when he understood Henry's concern.

The fairy among them looked over at Henry as well, as she responded, "I'll come with you to talk to Belle. I want to be of help in any way I can."

The dwarf nodded in agreement, then he stated, "I'll come too. And if you feel a need to gather a search party for anyone… Regina, Gold, Cruella, or anyone… let me know. I'll talk with my brothers and we can put one together in a matter of minutes."

"Thank you, Leroy," Mary Margaret answered sincerely and reached out to pat his arm in gratitude before he, Henry, and Tinker Bell walked towards the door, then left the apartment to head over to Gold's pawnshop where they expected the beauty might be closing it down for the night, or on to Granny's in case she wasn't.

About twenty minutes later, Henry, Tink, and Grumpy entered the diner when they saw Belle sitting in a booth with Will through the window despite it being well after midnight, then they walked over to join them. Belle quickly stood and walked around so she could sit next to the thief who had become a close friend to her since her husband betrayed her six months ago, while her grandson and their friends sat down across from them in the empty seat.

"It's good to see you," the beauty said happily, until she saw the look of concern on each of their faces. "What's wrong? Did Rumple do something?"

Tink shook her head as she replied, "Actually… we don't really know, though we suspect he could be behind at least one of the problems going on right now."

Will sighed in frustration, then rhetorically he asked, "Why is it, that whenever things seem to be looking up, that bloody villain always seems to come right back to cause more trouble for us?"

"I'm sorry, Belle," he then apologized quickly, after he turned to look over at the beauty sitting beside him upon seeing her apprehension and sadness over her husband in her eyes.

"It's okay," she responded as he reached down to take his hand, then turned back to look between Henry, Tinker Bell, and Leroy. "What's happened?"

The fairy glanced over at the dwarf, then turned back to Belle and Will again as she answered, "First of all… Emma received a message earlier from Maleficent on Hook's phone and it turns out she had kidnapped him to get Emma to confront her alone. David asked me and Leroy to go with him so we could find her… to help her in case she needed us. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, Emma was forced into an open portal. Hook and Maleficent too. They're missing."

Grumpy then spoke up as well saying, "If that wasn't bad enough, we're worried Regina's missing too and unless it's because she's busy being undercover with Gold and Cruella…"

"You're worried that Rumple might have something to do with her disappearance," Belle finished for him when she understood their concerns. "I'm afraid I haven't seen Rumple since two nights ago. Since… he came to talk to me disguised as Hook so he could steal back his dagger. But I'll help you if I can. He'll come to me if I ask to see him."

"Thank you, Belle," Tink replied gratefully, while the beauty pulled out her phone from her coat pocket so she could send her husband a message asking him to come to see her.

The beauty kept her eyes on the screen while she continued to type, although she responded, "You're welcome. Anything I can do to help Emma, Killian, and Regina. I hope they're okay."

Will looked between his friends skeptically as he answered, "Me too. Do you really believe that if Rumplestiltskin is behind any of their disappearances… that he'll admit it to any of ya? Cause I don't. Not so long as he's tryin' ta take us all out."

"I've got to agree with Will on that," Leroy gruffly replied.

"Nevertheless, we have to try," Belle responded sadly. "He may be the only one who can tell us what's happened to them. If he agrees to meet me here, you might want to stay hidden until he's seated. But don't go too far. I'd rather not be alone with him right now. Not after he deceived me again by pretending to be one of my closest friends."

Tink nodded her head as she reached out to lay her hand over Belle's out of remorse for the difficult position the beauty was in because of being the Dark One's wife. Belle smiled at her to show her gratitude, until a message from Gold came through and she looked between her friends again while she told them Gold would meet her once he finished up with the business he was currently conducting.


	4. Chapter 4

The Dark Backward

Chapter Four

Within an unknown time later, Emma slowly awakened as she struggled to open her eyes against the agonizing pain in her head, from not only the tragedy which had occurred in the caves, but also in result of unleashing her wrath against Maleficent like the sorceress had done against her too. At first, she couldn't remember what happened to her or how she wound up lying on the ground somewhere within the woods where she discovered she now was in the middle of the night. Nor did she remember in that moment Killian had been killed. Unfortunately, the moment passed and it wasn't long before everything came flooding back to her after she stood again on her feet, as tears fell heavily from her eyes once more.

The Savior fought to maintain her composure despite being unable to hold in her quiet sobs as she remembered Killian's closed eyes and his still form lying on top of her after he had taken the blast of Maleficent's dark power to his back when he protected her even though she couldn't be killed by magic… dark or otherwise. However, Emma didn't have much time to try to let it all sink in, as she was pulled from her despair when her parents suddenly came running up to her.

 _"The Author… where is he?" David immediately asked her just like he had done earlier that night while they were out there still looking for the man Emma released from the storybook page._

 _"We… we lost him," she replied as she looked between them with confusion over the strange sense of déjà vu that had fallen over her just then._

 _Mary Margaret didn't appear to notice her daughter's confusion, as she spoke apprehensively saying, "We know him, Emma."_

 _Emma questioned her when she uttered, "What?"_

 _"We met him a long time ago, before you were born," her mother continued, telling her the same words she had spoken earlier just like her father had seconds ago too. "He, um…"_

"Wait!" the Savior finally cut in instead before her father could go on explaining how the Author had manipulated them and that it was because of the peddler who had put them on the path to causing Maleficent to lose her child like Emma suspected he was about to do. "Just… just wait. You told me this already. You said that the Author is who manipulated you into kidnapping Maleficent's child…"

Now it was David and Mary Margaret who were looking at her in confusion as her father asked, "What are you talking about? We never told you this."

Emma stared at them while she curtly retorted, "Yes you did. I know all about what you've done. And now it's also because of you that Killian's dead!"

"What?" David quickly uttered in shock at what she just revealed to them, as he worryingly glanced over at his wife before he turned back to their daughter again with concern in his eyes, just like the concern seen in her mother's eyes as well. "That isn't possible. We've been out here searching the woods for over an hour and just before you visited with August, we saw him saying good night to you. There's been no attack in town. Someone would have called."

"I told you… all of this has happened already," the Savior answered angrily while she glared at them. "We searched these woods for over an hour before I finally called Killian and Henry to ask them to join us. They came, we failed to find the Author, we returned to town as Killian and I talked… He walked me home despite how angry I am with you and we said good night again. But after he left, he was taken by Maleficent so I would come down to the caves to talk to her. I went and it wasn't long before she killed him because he protected me from her anger really geared towards you. The last thing I remember is losing my temper and releasing my magic against her own when she attacked me. Our powers collided. That's it. Do you think I'm making this up? Why would I? What the hell is going on here?"

The Prince reached out to take his daughter by her shoulders in an effort to calm her down while he gently responded, "Everything's going to be okay, Emma. We'll help you figure out what's happened. Just try to calm down. I'm sure Hook… I'm sure he's fine. Whatever you think might have happened…"

Emma interrupted again, "I wasn't imagining Killian dying. I was there. I saw him lying dead on the ground as clear as I can see you standing here in front of me now. I felt him barrel into me, then collapse on top of me as he was killed when he was struck. His face… his body were lifeless. I know it happened. And if you won't believe me, then I don't want your help to fix this."

"Emma, wait!" her mother then cried out when Emma pulled away from them and then suddenly took off in the direction they had come to make her way back into town. "We do believe you!"

"Then help me find Maleficent so I can make her pay for what she's done!" the Savior shouted back at them as her parents struggled to follow and keep up with her.

The Savior, David, and Mary Margaret finally arrived in town, then headed towards the library where Emma expected she would find the sorceress in the cave below, and where she hoped she would find Killian's body as well so she could take care of him the way he deserved to be and not left alone beneath the streets they all walked on.

However, just when she reached out and pulled open the door of the library to walk inside, Emma suddenly heard Killian's voice from behind her and her parents as he came walking towards them from the direction of the harbor while he softly called out, "Emma?"

She immediately turned towards him as she stared at him in shock upon seeing him alive again and whispered, "Killian."

Emma then ran at him and once she reached him, she embraced him out of fear that he was no more than a ghost, only to find he was as real and alive as she was while she held him tightly against her and then began to kiss him tenderly while tears slipped from her eyes like before, this time in relief.

"Swan… what's wrong?" he asked her in confusion once the woman he loved pulled back a little at last so they could talk and look into one another's eyes, though he had seen the looks of relief and concern in her parents' eyes while they looked on and he could feel the worry himself for reasons which he didn't understand. "Did something happen?"

"I don't really know what happened anymore," the Savior worryingly replied to him and squeezed his hand, then she reached up with one hand so she could caress his cheek. "I thought you were… that you were gone. I thought Maleficent killed you when you protected me."

Killian looked down at her hand still within his own when the confusion and fear he felt deepened, then he answered gravely, "Well… it appears I'm still alive, only… I don't… I feel something's not right. Like I'm in some kind of dream. Like there's a dark shroud surrounding me and I can't break free. I can sense something tragic has happened, but I can't seem to remember how or… or when. All I do remember is waking up, lying on the deck aboard the Jolly Roger."

Emma glanced over again at her parents in concern, then she turned back to Killian and leaned in closer to him once more when he laid his forehead against hers as she responded gently, "It's gonna be okay. You're here… with me. You are alive. Whatever's happened, we'll figure it out together just like we've always done."

"Why don't we head back to our place, and we can continue to talk about what's happened inside where it's warmer?" Mary Margaret said nervously while she shivered from the cold.

"No," her daughter curtly replied when she and Killian turned around to face her parents again. "No… why don't you and Dad go back home where it's warmer. I really would rather not talk to you anymore tonight. Killian and I need to try to figure out what's going on, and I don't need my anger distracting me anymore. We're going to head to Granny's to talk. Please… just leave me alone."

Mary Margaret attempted to go after her when Emma and Killian walked away from them and headed towards the diner down the street, but David tenderly reached out to take her arm to hold her back, then pulled her into his arms. They stood there on the sidewalk outside of the library for a few more minutes as the Prince watched their daughter and friend disappear inside while he comforted his wife, then together they finally walked away themselves.

When Emma and Killian walked inside Granny's Diner, they were surprised to find that most of the booths and tables were full, especially since it was after midnight, but the lateness of the hour didn't appear to faze anyone else, least of all Granny, who stepped out from behind her bar and came over to the new arrivals as she stated in her usual stern manner, "Unless you're up to joining with some of the others in here, it might be awhile before a table opens up. So what can I get for you tonight?"

Belle looked up from the table where she was sitting with Will, Tinker Bell, and Leroy as she smiled and waved at her friends, then the Savior turned back to the owner of the diner while she declined Granny's offer when she answered, "Nothing for me tonight, Granny. Thanks. But Killian might want something."

"No… thank you, love," Hook responded while he looked at Granny as well. "I'm not very hungry."

"How about I at least get you a couple of hot cocoas with cinnamon to help warm you both up?" the old woman replied despite what either of them told her. "It's getting colder out there. Winter's coming. And maybe a little rum too."

Emma nodded and then she answered, "Actually, that sounds pretty good right now. We appreciate that, Granny. Thank you."

Granny nodded and walked away after she responded, "Sure thing."

Emma continued looking around the room as she also saw Phillip sitting with Aurora and their son, Henry sitting with Archie, Marco, and Dr. Whale, as well as Kathryn who was sitting with her husband, Jim, and Ashley with Sean who was holding their daughter too. It seemed like almost everyone she knew living in Storybrooke was there despite there still being several people missing.

The Savior kept looking around the room when Smee entered the diner and started talking with his Captain. She was about to join in their conversation, until Emma strangely caught a glimpse of someone she didn't recognize, as the outsider walked through a crowd of people standing in the back of the room by the jukebox while he kept his eyes trained solely on her. However, when Killian turned her attention as he asked Emma if she was alright and she quickly nodded her head assuredly, she then turned back towards where she saw the stranger only to find he was gone like he had vanished into thin air.

"I'm fine," Emma quietly replied when she looked over at Killian again, shaking off the outsider she had seen as nothing more than her mind playing tricks with her. "Why don't we head out to your ship so we can talk in private once Granny returns with our drinks? Granny was right… it doesn't look like a table's going to be opening up any time soon."

"I'd like that," the Captain answered. "It won't be quite as warm, but certainly more cozy."

She smiled at him and was about to lean in to kiss him, until a shot suddenly rang out from out of nowhere. Emma carefully looked around the room again in order to seek out whoever fired it, as did everyone else when they all stood once their conversations were interrupted by the shock upon hearing the gunshot.

However, she immediately turned back to Killian again when she heard him gasp out in pain while he stared down at his hand now resting over his stomach, as blood began to seep through the fabric of his shirt from an open wound he was struggling to cover up to stifle the flow. The Savior released a sob once she saw Killian was wounded, then she whispered his name out of fear as she swiftly caught him before he could fall the rest of the way to the floor and pulled him into her arms when he collapsed to his knees. Everyone surrounding them simply stared down at them in shock.

Emma fought to keep him alive, keeping her eyes on his through her tears as she wept until she turned her head towards the others standing over them and shouted, "Somebody help me! What are you waiting for? Call for an ambulance… please! Killian… hang on. I'm here. I'm not letting go, but you need to hold on. You're going to be alright."

She then laid one of her hands over his to help him stifle his blood while Emma struggled to summon her magic within her in hope she could heal him. Her hand began to glow as her healing power finally ignited. Tragically, Killian's eyes closed while she heard him whisper an apology for leaving her, until his life left his body once again before her power could save him.

The Savior could no longer hold back her tears or cries as she screamed, "No! No… I can't… I can't lose you again. Killian? Killian!"

Killian now laid dead in her arms while she was weeping over him like she had when she held him tightly against him before down in the cave after she had confronted Maleficent. Only this time, Emma and Killian suddenly became engulfed by a strange bright light and then… there was nothing but darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

The Dark Backward

Chapter Five

Meanwhile…

Maleficent slowly awoke and then struggled to raise herself up from the cold ground where she found herself lying, somewhere within the cemetery once she was able to get a better sense of her bearings. What was also strange, was that the sorceress found herself wearing the same grey suit and hat she had been wearing earlier that day until she remembered using her magic to change herself into her black gown she confronted the Savior with down in the cave just before whatever happened next as a bright white light had engulfed them. She just couldn't remember how or why, nor how it was she wound up as she was now.

Once she was back on her feet, the villainess looked around her again, bent down to pick up her daughter's rattle she found was lying beneath her, then she stared ahead of her as she began to feel a strange sense of déjà vu when she turned to face Regina's magic vault. She thought for another minute before she finally decided to walk inside, suspecting she would find Gold still down there along with Regina. In truth, she hoped he'd be there so she could try to get a few answers about her missing memories.

 _When she entered the room beneath the crypt, she found the Dark One standing in front of the Evil Queen's magic mirror and made no effort to turn around to face her as he spoke quietly saying, "_ _You didn't get me the page. You didn't earn your answer. That was the deal."_

 _Maleficent's sense of déjà vu grew stronger as she could have sworn she had already had this conversation with him earlier that evening, but she still responded like before, "That was the deal. But after all I've been through, I've more than earned my answer."_

 _"I know," he replied callously before the sorceress could say something more to find the answers she had really come down for this time, still without facing her, though he looked at her through the mirror instead. "And I want to give you a last chance to preserve what you have."_

 _"What I have is pain," she darkly answered him._

 _Mr. Gold finally turned around while he responded, "And pain fades… Unless you feed it. And this… This could be the meal, you really don't want."_

Maleficent suddenly raised her hand to cut him off before he said anything more, then she glared at him as she said again, "Look… now I know we've definitely had this conversation before. I'm not here for answers about my daughter this time. I know about her and what happened. How my poor little girl was lost to this world after she was taken from me and then adopted by normal, non magical human beings.

"How do you know that?" the Dark One asked while he stared at her in confusion, as she walked around him to take a seat against the wall before either of them continued. "I never told you any of this and no one else could possibly know what I do."

"Let's not really go into that right now," the villainess curtly replied when she looked up at him again. "I need to know what happened to me earlier. Why I'm here now repeating a conversation and I had with you over an hour ago."

He slowly began to pace back and forth as he tried to make sense of what she was trying to talk to him about, though he had to admit her story had certainly peaked his interest, and then he finally answered her, "I wish I could help you, but I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, dearie. The last conversation I recall having with you was when you, me, Cruella, and Regina were seeking out my grandson to find the missing page. But do go on. What's happened?"

She let out a sigh of frustration, then she responded, "After I left here, I headed back into town and discovered Hook walking alone towards the harbor after he left the Savior. I wanted to talk to her about what her parents did to me and my daughter. In hoped that by doing so it would turn her against her parents and darken her heart just like we've been wanting. However, she already knew the truth. I abducted the pirate to lure Emma down into the cave beneath the library because I knew she wouldn't come to me on her own. She did and that's when everything went wrong, only… I can't remember much except that I lost my temper and lashed out against the Savior. I fired a burst of magic from my staff towards her, but her pirate stepped between her and was killed."

"Hook is dead?" Gold asked in disbelief.

"As far as I know," the sorceress replied crossly. "His death is pretty much the last I remember aside from the Savior weeping over his body until she turned on me. I think we both unleashed our powers against one another, but then there was nothing but light and then darkness. The next thing I knew, was finding myself lying outside of this vault on the ground among the gravestones."

The Dark One took a few moments to try to comprehend her story, then he finally turned back to her again and stated, "That's a very interesting story. If all you say is true… why don't you go out to find the Savior again and see if she's experiencing the same circumstances you are? Should you survive her wrath again, come back here to finish telling me the rest. I'll be around. Now if you'll excuse me… I have some business of my own to attend to. I have reasons to believe that the Author has been released from his prison for us. It's time I go out to find him before the heroes do."

Maleficent nodded and finally just left the vault again without another word. Gold then smiled at the knowledge that one of his oldest enemies might be dead after all the years Hook had been seeking revenge against him, but he didn't relish in the thought for long, before he teleported himself from the vault to go out into the woods in search for the Author like he told the sorceress he was going to do.

 _A short time later, the Author finally stopped running from the heroes chasing after him to try to catch his breath and swiftly snapped a twig off from one of the trees surrounding him as he immediately started carving it into a quill with his knife, until Mr. Gold suddenly appeared before him as he said haughtily, "Well, I'm not much of a writer, but I do know something about magic quills."_

 _"Such as?" Isaac questioned when he raised his head to look up at the Dark One when he spoke._

 _"Well, for starters... they must be sculpted from the wood of enchanted trees, which… unfortunately for you, is not an attribute any of the timber in Storybrooke possesses," the Dark One answered coolly, then nodded to confirm the Author's doubt when Isaac looked between him and the stick in his hands again._

 _All of a sudden, he snapped the twig into two and threw the pieces on the ground as he cursed, "Damn it!"_

 _When he turned upon hearing the sound of the heroes coming to find him as they closed in on him, he quickly turned back to Gold again as he added, "I need to go."_

 _"Yes, you do," the older man responded in understanding, but then offered the Author another choice as he walked nearer to him, instead of him continuing to run. "Or, um… You could come with me."_

 _"Why would I do that?" Isaac then asked coldly after he chortled in disbelief of the villain's offer. "You're quite possibly the biggest pain in the ass I have ever had the displeasure of writing about."_

 _The Dark One laughed as well and then he replied, "Yes… there is that. But there's also… This."_

 _When Gold pulled the Author's real quill from his inside coat pocket, the Author gave him a look of frustration, then worryingly asked again, "What do you want from me?"_

 _"You are gonna write me a whole bunch of new happy endings," the villain answered him smugly, then placed the quill back into his coat pocket once more while Isaac turned his head again to see that those chasing him had grown closer._

 _"Okay," Isaac finally agreed after he let out another sigh of frustration, as he nervously looked at Gold again._

 _The Dark One smiled at him again knowing he had won, then retorted smugly, "I thought so."_

He then waved his hand and teleported himself and the Author away before the heroes arrived where they'd been standing. Little did either man know that Maleficent had been standing at a safe distance as she concealed herself so they wouldn't see her as she watched and listened in on their conversation just now.

She sneered, then uttered coldly to herself in regard to what Gold had told the Author about what he wanted from him, "One of those happy endings better be mine."

And then, the sorceress raised her hand above her head as she was about to vanish within a purple smoke cloud before the heroes arrived within the clearing. But before she could, a blinding white light suddenly engulfed her again until if faded into nothing but darkness like it had happened down in the cave during her fight with Emma. If whatever had caused the strange occurrence to happen had held off for a moment longer, Maleficent might have seen that neither Emma, nor Hook were among the search party looking for the Author this time.


	6. Chapter 6

The Dark Backward

Chapter Six

Emma slowly awakened again like before, feeling the same agonizing pain in her head making it difficult for her to open her eyes until she finally could and then found herself back somewhere within the middle of the woods lying on the cold, hard ground. To make matters worse, she struggled with trying to remember how she had come again to this point. It took her a little longer than it did the first time, but when her memories finally came back to her, she saw Killian's lifeless body before her eyes and his blood staining his clothes and her hands.

It took the Savior all the strength she possessed to fight back her sobs and tears threatening to fall again when she knew in her heart Killian was dead for the second time that night after he had been mysteriously shot inside Granny's Diner. However, once she gained control, she finally managed to get up from the ground and back on her feet. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before she wasn't alone anymore, as her parents came running towards her with their flashlights on and Emma glanced down on the ground and found her own flashlight still turned on as well where she'd been laying down moments earlier.

 _"The Author… where is he?" David immediately asked as soon as he could get his breathing back under control, just like he had asked his daughter twice before and Emma looked at him in confusion even stronger than she felt before, only this time she didn't respond to him as she had before._

"This isn't happening," she stated out of disbelief while she looked between them with fear in her eyes. "I can't go through this again. Why do you keep asking me that? What the hell is going on?!"

Her parents looked at their daughter with worry as Mary Margaret questioned, "We don't know what you mean? What's wrong, Emma? We know that you're upset with your father and me, but if your anger's starting to get in the way of us working together to find…"

Emma angrily interrupted, "This isn't about finding the Author anymore! I'm telling you I've been through this moment before. Twice. The first time for real, but the last time was more like a dream. Just like it is now. This can't be real. Or maybe I'm asleep. Maleficent… she's known for sleeping curses. Maybe that's what this is. We were fighting earlier tonight. She fired her magic at me and I defended myself, but clearly something went wrong. I have to go find her and… Killian!"

"We just saw him a short time ago when he was saying good night to you back at the Sorcerer's mansion," David said again in concern.

"No… you don't understand," the Savior answered curtly, then turned away from them and started running off again towards town while she shouted back to them the rest of her brief explanation not caring if it didn't make any sense. "He's trapped in here the same as I am!"

She kept running as fast as she could and her parents struggled to keep up with her while they followed after her. It took her longer than she would have liked, but at last she arrived back on Main Street and she kept running just past the library in the direction of the harbor, where she hoped Killian would be coming from like he did before.

Emma's father, once he was able to catch his breath as Mary Margaret and their daughter struggled to do, then spoke up again saying, "We don't understand what's going on, Emma. Talk to us… please. Let us know what you're so afraid of and what you meant when you said you've been through our conversation before. We want to help you."

She glanced at her parents again while she responded crossly, "You wouldn't get it. And I can't keep trying to explain it to you over and over again if that's where whatever it is that's happening here is going. If you want to stick around and try to piece it together yourselves, fine."

"Emma?" Killian then softly called out, as she immediately turned around at the sound of his voice and the Savior suddenly ran towards him, then embraced him tenderly, yet like she was afraid he was going to fade away into nothing at any moment if she let him go. "Not that I'm complaining, love, but… you're acting like we've been parted. For awhile it would seem."

"You have no idea," Emma whispered sadly as she continued to hold him, then finally pulled back just enough so she could look up into his eyes while he could see tears beginning to fall from hers.

He raised his hand to her face and gently wiped away one of her tears that slipped down her cheek, then continued to caress her cheek while he asked worryingly, "Emma… what's wrong? I know something's happened… I was on my way to your loft to talk to you about this strange feeling I don't understand, but then you're here and clearly you're feeling it too."

The Savior shook her head to fight back the rest of her tears threatening to fall and cleared her throat, then she replied, "It's difficult to explain. I'm not sure how, or if I'm even right, but… somehow you and I are caught in some bizarre magical time loop. Or a dream that keeps playing in my mind over and over again. In both of our minds. It's possible we're trapped in one of Maleficent's sleeping curses, only you don't ever remember. You can feel something's wrong. But then you die… You die, Killian. Twice you have. First down in the caves when I confronted Maleficent after she used you to try to get to me and you stepped in front of a blast meant to hurt me. And then you were shot… when we were in Granny's. But I never saw who shot you or even how it happened. I cradled you in my arms both times and there was nothing I could do to save you. The next thing I remember…"

"Is being consumed by a bright white light until it fades away and there's nothing but darkness, then… we wake up again at the beginning before this whole mess began," Maleficent suddenly answered before Emma could finish, as the sorceress walked towards them from another direction once she had heard the Savior share all that she had until now. "You're not the only ones caught up in whatever this is."

"What the hell have you done?" Emma questioned her angrily, when she quickly turned to face her and raised her hands again to defend herself and Killian against her. "Don't try to tell me you're as much of a victim in whatever happened between us down in the cave and expect me or any of the rest of us to care. How did this happen? Is this the work of your magic gone wrong?"

The villainess glared coldly at the Savior while she responded, "Whatever this is, my power isn't the cause of it. I know exactly what I'm capable of. Besides, if I wanted to trap you and your pirate is some kind of dream world, do you really think that I would trap myself inside along with you? Something happened to us as soon as our powers clashed together. I could have sworn there was some kind of portal that opened up. And Hook's alive. I saw him dead just like you did, Savior. Something… or someone very powerful is behind what's happened here."

Mary Margaret finally cut in while she was still standing beside her husband and struggled to understand what their daughter, Hook, and Maleficent were talking about as she turned to look at the sorceress, then asked, "So… you're saying you're trapped in this same time loop Emma's trapped in too?"

"Other than both of us confirming there's a bright white light that overpowers us just before time repeats itself…" she curtly began to reply as she faced the Princess and then continued. "I've woken up twice now just before I've been about to talk to Gold about what happened to my daughter you and Prince Charming stole from me."

"I didn't really understand much the first time through this loop," Maleficent then added when she turned back to Emma and Hook again. "But now that it's happened again, I've no doubt it's going to keep happening until we figure out why and how to stop it. Which means it's probably best that we try working together."

Killian kept his eyes on her while he protectively pulled Emma closer to him and tightened his grip around her hand out of worry, then he answered, "We can't trust her, Emma. If what you said was true about how I died, there's a good chance she's only come here so she can try to kill you again. She's manipulating you."

The sorceress glared at him as her eyes darkened when she angrily responded, "You're right not to trust me after all I've done tonight, pirate… but if you really think I care to be trapped in whatever twisted hell this is with you, you can think again."

"Everyone, just try to take it easy," David calmly replied, then was about to continue until all of a sudden, a number of people started screaming and shouting as they came flooding out from the Rabbit Hole down the street in a panic.

"What now?" Emma uttered in concern, then she, Killian, David, and Mary Margaret all started running towards the commotion so they could find out what was happening, while Maleficent followed behind them without hurrying to try to help.

Once the heroes arrived inside after they pushed their way through the crowd of patrons rushing away from the chaos, they discovered a fight had broken out between two vikings and at least five men from Hook's old crew. They arrived just in time to see one of the vikings throw the two pirates who charged at him back through the air until they crashed and broke one of the tables they landed on.

Hook quickly called out to his men as he shouted, "Starkey… Cecco… Mason… All of you… knock it off!"

One of his men actually stopped and turned upon hearing the sound of his Captain's voice, but he quickly rejoined the rest of his colleagues. Emma pulled her gun from her holster and fired a single shot up into the ceiling above them to try to gain their attentions, but even the gunshot wasn't enough of a distraction. So she, David, and Killian rushed in to try to force some of the men off the others.

Emma glanced over at the villainess who finally joined them inside and cried, "How about a little help!"

Maleficent raised her hand and was about to release a sleeping spell over the men causing the trouble, but one of the vikings suddenly grabbed Killian's cutlass from its scabbard when his back was turned, then thrust the blade towards David to try to kill him. However, Killian turned as soon as he felt it get lifted and immediately stepped between the attacker and Emma's father to protect him, as his sword was suddenly thrust through his chest instead.

The fight finally came to an end once Emma screamed and cried out his name while she rushed over to him when Killian fell to the floor. As she pulled him against her and struggled to keep him alive, David shoved the man who stabbed his friend to the ground so he could cuff the big man's hands behind his back to arrest him. Unfortunately, Killian died once more before Emma could even lay her hand over the wound to try to heal him. When the Savior saw he was gone, she laid over on top of his body and began to weep like the last two times she's been forced to watch him die, while David raised his head again to look on at them sadly, as did Mary Margaret, and Hook's crew who stared down at their Captain in disbelief and with regret.

Her mother knelt down beside her daughter as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders and remorsefully whispered, "I'm so sorry, baby."

The dragon sorceress then felt the strange sense come over her like she felt before and said darkly, "It's happening again, Emma."

And then, Emma tightened her hold around Killian and held him desperately within her grasp when the same bright light that had engulfed the two women like both times before suddenly washed over them once again and sent them back into darkness after the light faded away.


	7. Chapter 7

The Dark Backward

Chapter Seven

Outside of the time loop, down within Regina's vault…

After Gold finished speaking with the Author, then hid him away where the heroes wouldn't be able to find him, he returned to the Queen's vault where Regina was bound with her wrists locked in magical cuffs and still unconscious after she had been knocked out by Maleficent once she, Gold, and Cruella had discovered her deception. The Dark One stood in front of her while he waited for her to come around all the way so they could talk, and he could move on to the next part of his plan.

 _When Regina finally came to, she became startled upon seeing him standing in front of her and immediately began to struggle against the shackles around her wrists until Gold spoke snidely saying, "Your hands are tied, I'm afraid. No more magic for you today."_

 _She glared up at him as she sat up against the wall beneath her magic mirror and then replied coldly, "So now I'm your prisoner."_

 _"You and the Author," he responded. "Well, actually, he had the good sense to join the team, whereas you… You backed the wrong one."_

 _"What about everything you said to me?" Regina asked him sternly. "You wanted me to find my happiness."_

 _Mr. Gold took a few steps further away from her until he turned around to face her again while he answered, "Well, that's true. Just not at my expense. You see, the affection I have for you, well… There are limits."_

 _The Queen darkly questioned him again, "What happened to you?"_

 _"I lost everything," the Dark One replied, then continued by making a threat against her as he pulled a yellow sticky note from his coat pocket. "Just as you will if you don't do as I say. I found this in your pocket. Telephone number registered to a Robin of Locksley."_

 _"Give that back," she crossly stated as she stood to face off against him._

 _Gold looked between the piece of paper and his old student as he cruelly responded, "I'm guessing you have this number because you're worried about poor Robin Hood out there in the cold, harsh world. And so you should be."_

 _"What do you know that I don't?" Regina then asked him in concern for the man she loved. "What happened to Robin?"_

 _"Ask him yourself," he answered once he pulled out his cell phone and made the shackles around her wrists vanish so she could do like he wanted, then handed his phone over. "Call."_

 _The Queen stared down at the phone in her hands, then took the sticky note with Robin's number from him and apprehensively made the call. A part of her was excited to hear Robin's voice, although she was also afraid to. She didn't know what to expect from him and when the woman Regina believed was his wife answered on the other end of the call, the last thing she expected was to learn that Marian was actually her sister, Zelena, whom she believed was long dead._

 _After the two sisters finished talking when the Wicked Witch finally hung up, Regina glared up at Gold again as she uttered coldly, "You knew."_

 _The villain still standing before her cruelly replied, "And that's why you will do everything I ask. Because one phone call from me and your beloved dies at the hands of your sister."_

 _"She murdered your son!" Regina then shouted at him in anger._

 _"Well, Zelena and I have come to… an understanding," Gold responded snidely once more. "And now you and I have an understanding as well."_

 _His prisoner scoffed, then he continued, "Regina… you are vital to my plan to turn the Savior towards darkness."_

 _The Queen answered him darkly, "You made me a monster. But I won't let you do the same to Emma."_

 _The Dark One stepped closer to her again and reached out to take his phone back, then he replied, "So you've made your choice, have you? You're choosing the Savior over your beloved Robin Hood? Is that your final answer?"_

"Well… I'm afraid you've backed the wrong horse then… so to speak," he then said again when she just continued to glare up at him until Regina lowered her eyes to stare ahead of her out of disbelief and in despair once it sank in how much danger Robin was in. "I'm afraid it's a little too late to protect Miss. Swan from the darkness that's now in her heart. You see… it appears Maleficent has found the right push needed to turn her heart dark after all. It was a happy accident, only I'll have to wait until Emma and her find their way back from the Dark Backward before I can distract the blood needed so the Author can write us villains our happy endings."

"What are you talking about?" Regina questioned him worryingly when Gold mentioned Emma had disappeared to what sounded to her like another realm, and that she may have lost her way. "What the hell have you done?"

The villain smiled coldly and then responded, "I only took advantage of a situation she and Maleficent have brought upon themselves. They're trapped where they're going to have a very difficult time trying to get back from. I don't doubt they will, but they'll be gone at least long enough for me to talk to you and to the Author so I can begin to get what I want. Oh… and in case you actually care, I'm afraid Captain Hook is dead. Not at my hand of course, though I certainly wish it had been. His death is the beginning of the Savior's downfall."

It was then that he received a message over his phone from Belle and after he finished reading it, Gold looked back at the Queen once more as he spoke again saying, "I'm afraid I must leave you now. I've some other business to attend to. Why don't you wait here the rest of the night and think over what it is we've discussed. You'll be free to leave come morning. Good night, Your Majesty."

And with that said, Gold waved his hand and vanished from the Queen' vault within his smoke to teleport himself back into town outside of Granny's Diner where his wife had asked him to meet her. As he peered in through the window, he saw Belle sitting in one of the booths alone, not knowing that his grandson, the Green Fairy, a dwarf, and his wife's new friend, the thief from Wonderland, were all hiding in wait for him to arrive.

"Belle… is everything all right?" he asked the beauty when he came walking over to the table from behind her, as she immediately looked up at him with worry in her eyes. "What's wrong? I got your message that you were afraid."

"I'm sorry for bringing you here under false pretenses, Rumple, but… we were actually hoping to talk to you about Emma, Hook, and Regina," his wife answered nervously once he was sitting down across from her, and started to reach out to take her hand until she quickly pulled away from him.

The Dark One looked at her in confusion as he questioned, "We?"

It was then that Henry and their friends rejoined Belle after they walked out from Granny's kitchen, as Will retorted curtly, "Yeah, mate… 'we'."

"We're here for Belle, and because my moms and Hook are all missing, along with Maleficent," Henry continued worryingly once he sat beside his grandmother, while the others sat down at the table beside them. "Grandpa, Tink, and Leroy all saw Mom, Hook, and Maleficent being pulled into a portal that opened up as soon as they arrived to try to help my mom save Killian from that sorceress. And my other mom… she's just missing. We were hoping you knew why."

"You may be my grandson, Henry, but what makes you think I would actually help you find either of your mothers and that pirate since you've all turned against me?" Gold snidely replied, as he glared between the boy and the others.

Grumpy scoffed, then he curtly responded, "You're obviously a bit confused, Gold. In case you can't recall, you were the one who turned against us first when you helped the Snow Queen to try to destroy us all with her mirror curse."

Tinker Bell cut in as she added, "Not to mention you coming back here with the Queens of Darkness so the four of you could try again after you failed the first time."

"I'm doing what I have to do to protect myself and my wife from the likes of you," the villain answered darkly, then stood up again to leave until Belle reached out to grab his hand and looked up into his eyes pleadingly.

"Please, Rumple… if you know what's happened to Emma and Killian, or if you know where Regina is, I'm asking you to tell us," Belle replied to him. "Please. If you still care about me at all, you'll do me this one favor. And if you are behind their disappearances, please stop whatever it is you're doing and help us find them. For me, Rumple."

The Dark One sighed in frustration, then he lied when he responded, "I can't tell you where Regina is because I haven't seen her. Not since much earlier this morning and since then I was told she was in contact with Henry."

The teenager looked at him coldly as he answered, "You mean since you, Maleficent, and Cruella dragged Mom into helping you get the page from the Author's book after Maleficent put everyone to sleep?"

"That's right," Gold stated. "As for whatever happened to Emma, Hook, and Maleficent… I can't say either. But I will see what I can find out. I don't suppose you can describe the look of this portal… since it wasn't opened by any magic bean?"

"It definitely wasn't a normal portal," Tinker Bell replied curtly, then she handed him a napkin on which she had drawn a sketch of the portal's design she, David, and Leroy had seen just as their friends and the villainess were pulled through it. "A hole didn't open up in the ground anywhere around them, and it wasn't a golden ring like I've seen portals appear in other realms through my many travels. This portal looked more like a glowing flower in design."

The Dark One looked at the Green Fairy in surprise and then responded, "I'm quite impressed by your detailed description. And this sketch ought to help if there's anything I can find out for you. Don't worry about Regina. I'm sure she'll show up again soon, perfectly safe and unharmed. Now, if you'll excuse me… I have to go. I have things to do."

Once he walked out of the diner, Will kept his eyes on the door as he said curtly, "I bet he does. None of which include helping us find out what's happened to our friends."

"I agree with you," Henry answered worryingly, only feeling his concern for his moms and Killian heighten since they've talked with Gold. "I don't need Mom's superpower to know that he's lying about something."

"We'll find them, Henry," Tink whispered to him assuredly, as she gently reached out to take the boy's hand in her own. "They're going to be fine. You'll see."


	8. Chapter 8

The Dark Backward

Chapter Eight

Within the cemetery outside of the Evil Queen's vault, Maleficent slowly awakened once again and the headache she's felt the last two times she had been through the loop, or whatever it was she, Emma, and Hook were all trapped in, came rushing back. The villainess struggled to sit up from the ground, then stand, but when she was back on her feet, she stared ahead of her at the vault for no more than a minute before she finally decided to head right back into town to find Emma straight away rather than bother with talking to Gold, since it was clear he had no answers for her.

Maleficent nearly made it to the edge of the graveyard, when her path was blocked as Cruella suddenly appeared in front of her. However, it was clear by the look on her face that the dog hater was about as surprised to see the sorceress there, as Maleficent was surprised to see Cruella.

"Hello, darling," the woman with black and white hair stated coolly upon seeing her supposed ally coming from the direction of Regina's vault. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I could say the same about you," the dragon sorceress responded just as calmly. "If you're looking to talk to Gold, he's in the vault just where you're headed. And if you're looking to make some kind of deal with him that might not include me being your ally any longer, it's fine by me. I think we both know our alliance is over ever since Ursula betrayed us to help the heroes."

Cruella sneered as she answered, "I always knew that eight legged sea witch never had what it takes to be one of us. She was never a villain through and through. And I think we both knew our alliance was never going to last. As for me coming to find the Dark One… I am, but it's because he asked me here. It'd be rude to ignore his request. Don't you agree?"

Maleficent let out a sigh in frustration, then she replied, "Like I said, I don't care what you do any longer so long as it doesn't include double crossing me. Now if you don't mind, I'm in a bit of a hurry and I'm not in the mood to listen to any more of your frivolity or crassness."

"Has Regina awakened yet?" the dog hater asked again after the other woman stepped past her in an attempt to leave. "Is that what you were doing here? So you and Gold could use her to conspire against me?"

"I came here to find out more about what happened to my daughter," the sorceress curtly responded. "Only Gold had the answers I was looking for."

All of a sudden, the Dark One appeared from behind the women while he spoke out saying, "Which I do not actually recall giving to you yet, dearie."

Maleficent turned to face him in surprise, then she asked, "I thought you would be down in the vault looking after Regina so she can't wake up and attempt to escape?"

"She's quite secure, I assure you," he snidely answered her. "I was expecting you to come looking for your answers. I wasn't expecting I would find either one of you out here at this hour conversing with one another. But since I have you both here, how would you like to work together one last time to try to turn the Savior's heart black?"

"You know… Ursula double crossing us made me realize one thing and that's that we won't ever succeed in accomplishing turning the Savior's heart black so long as we work together, seeing as we all want different things," Cruella replied in frustration. "That… and I think we all know each one of us would betray the others too if given the chance."

The other villainess turned her head to look over at Gold again as she responded, "I couldn't agree with Cruella more. Especially since you've learned the Author's been freed from the page and know you can get to him first before the heroes find him, or either one of us. I don't know what it is you're really after, Rumplestiltskin. But even though you claim to have mine and Cruella's best interests in mind, I don't trust you to help us gain our happy endings like you've promised. And I don't have the time to argue with you any longer. So, if you'll excuse me… I have somewhere I have to be."

And with that said, Maleficent raised her hand and waved it over herself as she vanished from before the Dark One and the villainess who had the power to control animals and wild beasts in order to return to town again to find Emma and Hook like before. When she finally arrived outside of the library, neither of them appeared to arrive yet, so Maleficent waited hoping they would appear soon. As she waited, the villainess' mind wandered back to her first confrontation with David and Mary Margaret after Cruella and Ursula had used their blood to resurrect her again.

 _Upon being raised from her ashes, Maleficent had spoken first in relief as she said, "_ _It's good to be back."_

 _"Snow White and Prince Charming," she then uttered darkly upon seeing the two so called heroes she hated and sought revenge against more than anyone else upon first awakening._

 _"Maleficent…" Mary Margaret had then begun in worry as she and David both walked up to stand before her, in hope of trying to appease the dragon sorceress' mind before she could attack them. "_ _Whatever it is you think we did, you don't know the whole story."_

 _The villainess in all black glared at them coldly while she answered darkly, "I know enough."_

 _When Maleficent started to circle menacingly around the Prince and Princess, Cruella replied snidely, "Patience, Mal. We have a plan."_

 _"You wanna hurt someone?" Mary Margaret continued as she kept her eyes trained on the woman they had terribly wronged. "Well, hurt me. Leave David alone."_

 _"Hurt you?" the villainess retorted, looking between them both. "No. That would be far too easy."_

 _Mary Margaret stared at her in concern thinking she understood then what she wanted and she responded, "You're going to tell everyone what we did first."_

 _Maleficent glared at the Princess as she answered her angrily, "I don't care about your secret. You can keep it as long as you like. I only care about one thing… Your pain, and that it be as long and terrible and unyielding as my own. The pain you caused."_

 _"I forgot how much I missed her," Ursula whispered smugly as she leaned over towards Cruella._

 _"It's going to be entertaining," the dog hater replied to her in agreement as well._

 _The sorceress kept her eyes on Mary Margaret and David while she cruelly continued again, "I'm gonna revel in every torturous moment. And you? You're gonna watch your world crumble."_

 _And then, she turned away and started walking away from them while Cruella and Ursula followed, as she called back to the heroes, "See you soon, dears."_

Maleficent's thoughts were interrupted when she finally saw David and Mary Margaret walking towards their loft apartment once they returned from their search in the woods from the Author. However, this time Emma wasn't with them. Neither of them saw her, until the villainess stepped away from the library and moved out to stand in front of them to block their path.

"Maleficent… what do you want?" Mary Margaret then asked her worryingly, while David swiftly stood protectively beside his wife in case the villainess made a move of attack against her.

"You can relax," Maleficent responded crossly. "I was looking for Emma and Hook. And not so I can hurt them. I expected them to be out here with you, yet here you are coming back from the woods without your daughter. Where is she?"

The Prince glared coldly at her as he answered, "Whatever it is you want from her, you won't get it. Why would you think we would be here?"

The dragon sorceress let out a sigh in frustration and then she replied, "I don't have time to go into any details right now. I have to find her. Her life and Hook's depend on me talking to her again as much as mine does."

"What are you talking about?" Mary Margaret asked fearfully upon hearing the other woman state that her daughter's life was in danger. "We were out searching the woods with Emma for the Author for over an hour, but then we lost her. What kind of danger is she in? And what do you have to do with it?"

"If you really haven't seen her since she vanished from your search, then I shouldn't be here wasting my time talking to you," Maleficent responded in frustration and then started to walk towards the harbor knowing that the Savior would have likely gone to find Hook if she had already run ahead upon awakening so she could avoid her parents.

However, David called out to her again asking, "Why are you suddenly so concerned with our daughter's wellbeing?"

The villainess stopped and turned back around again, then she answered, "I'm not. I would love nothing more than to see her die knowing her death would cause you the ultimate kind of pain a child's parents can suffer like I have. I was close to such a feat tonight, until everything went wrong. Now… I have to find her before Hook dies again."

"Again?" Mary Margaret questioned in concern.

"That's right, Your Majesties," Maleficent replied cruelly. "The pirate's death is what occurs every time just before…"

Before she could finish or even had the chance to transport herself to the harbor in hope of finding the Savior, the same bright light that has consumed her, Emma, and the pirate captain again and again, suddenly engulfed them once more. The next thing she knew, was finding herself back in the cemetery.


	9. Chapter 9

The Dark Backward

Chapter Nine

Meanwhile…

Emma slowly awakened once again within the middle of the woods, but despite her headache which returned like always, she fought against it as she swiftly sat up, then stood on her feet and began to run as fast as she could towards town before her parents could find her. All she wanted was to find Killian before they or anyone else could delay her so she could do whatever it took to protect him from dying again. Once she finally made it back, Emma stopped only for a minute so she could catch her breath, then she quickly continued on as she ran from Main Street down to the harbor where she knew Killian always awoke aboard the Jolly Roger like he told her each time they've been through the time loop now.

Just like she hoped, Emma found him as he stepped down on land from the ship's gangplank, then stopped upon seeing the woman he loved appear before him, and he stared at her until she ran into his arms to embrace him like she believed something had happened to him that he couldn't remember, though he sensed something was wrong from the moment he awoke.

She just continued to hold him tightly against her without saying a word, so after a few minutes, Killian finally spoke softly as he asked, "Emma… what's happened, love? You're acting like I've disappeared, or…"

The Captain who loved her cut himself off before he finished when Emma looked up into his eyes and immediately understood what happened to him was somehow the word he couldn't bring himself to say upon seeing her tears, then she swiftly began to pull him along with her by grasping his hand in her own as they left the docks while she answered, "Not here. I'll explain once we find someplace away from here. Somewhere… we can be alone."

The Savior kept pulling him behind her until they made their way to where her yellow bug was parked outside of her parents' loft and Killian didn't object when Emma asked him to get in. He gave her the silence that had fallen between them in the belief she needed it to help her come to terms and to think of how to share with him what happened to them. However, when they were about the cross the town line to leave Storybrooke, he swiftly asked her to stop and she immediately slammed on the brakes simply by the mere sound of his voice.

"Swan?" he gently whispered out of worry when he looked over at her as Emma kept staring at the road ahead and kept her hands on the steering wheel, until he tenderly reached out to take one of her hands into his own while he turned his upper body to face her. "Whatever's happened… you can tell me. I may not remember, but I'll believe you. And if you're thinking leaving Storybrooke is the only way to escape our troubles, whether it's because of what happened to me, or because of your parents…"

"I can't deny my wanting to leave here is because of both those reasons," Emma despondently replied before he could continue, when she finally looked over at him again. "I lost you tonight, Killian. And not just once. I've watched you die three times now. The first time because you protected me against Maleficent's power when she threatened me. The other two times because we've somehow become trapped inside some twisted time loop, that always restarts after you're killed. I told you yesterday you wouldn't have to worry about me because I wasn't going to let Gold, or anyone decide who I am by turning me dark. I thought I was strong enough to resist their taunts and their attacks, but I was wrong. I failed you. I felt you die and I lost myself. That's why we're in this trouble now. I lashed out against Maleficent first and now we're trapped here."

She stopped talking when she turned away from him again as she opened her door to get out of the car while Killian did the same, then he walked around her car so he could stand beside her and after she wrapped her arms around him again seeking his comfort, he questioned, "And your parents?"

The Savior laid her head against his chest between his shoulders and his neck, then she sadly continued, "My anger towards them was the beginning of me losing my temper. I thought I was in control, but then you died and… and I lost that control. Maleficent tried to hurt me and killed you first, but then I attacked her in revenge. She was only defending herself against me and I think our powers clashing together was what pulled us into this time loop somehow. It's the only plausible conception I have that might explain how all this has happened. And I am angry with them, Killian. I just don't know how to let it go. I'm not ready to let it go."

"Believe me, Emma… I do understand your anger towards your parents far better than you think I do," Killian responded sincerely while he continued to hold her. "I told you my father abandoned me too… long, long ago. And my hate for him made me do something unspeakable that I will never be able to forgive myself for. But my point is… if you can't find a way to forgive your parents, it will slowly consume you and Gold, and Maleficent, and Cruella… they will get exactly what they want from you. If I have done anything to help you know you deserve to be loved, then please heed my plea and believe that you need them. Now more than ever. You know that I will go to the end of the world for you. You're my home and I love you, so if you decide to leave Storybrooke when this is all said and done, I will come with you. But not until we get out of this time loop and I plead with you to think this decision through. Not only are you an amazing woman, but you are also the Savior. However, you can't be that anymore, except for me, if we live where there's no one to save."

"Being only your Savior would be enough for me," she answered in jest before he could go on once she finally pulled back enough so she could look into his eyes as she smiled up at him.

Killian smiled down at her as well and then he gently replied, "A part of me wishes protecting me was your only burden to bear, since you allowed yourself to accept me into your heart. Not that I wish to be a burden to you, but… Can you really condemn your family and our friends to a world of darkness like these villains want? Because this is what will happen if we leave right here and now."

The Captain raised his hand to Emma's face and tenderly caressed her cheek when tears began to slip from her eyes as she continued to look at him, then she whispered, "I hear you. And you're right. I do want to forgive them, Killian. It's just going to take me some time."

"Aye, love," the man who loved her responded to her in understanding and then embraced her once more. "And I'll be right here by your side to help you. Whenever you're ready."

"I wish that were true, but I'm afraid you won't be," a sympathetic voice suddenly spoke out from behind them, as Emma and Killian quickly turned and were surprised to see Ursula now standing before them.

Killian looked at her in confusion while he asked, "Ursula… I thought you left town with your father?"

She looked at him as well, as she answered, "You should have struck around the harbor until we were gone, instead of walking off to brood over the Dark One's plans for your girlfriend here. Perhaps if you had, Gold never would have surprised me when he appeared and ripped out my heart before we could escape this town. He stole my heart and ordered that I help him to imprison my father. He's now Rumplestiltskin's prisoner and I'm completely under his control."

"Your father is an all-powerful God," Emma replied worryingly, as she moved in closer to Killian protectively while they continued to face the Sea Witch.

"He was, until I stole most of his power away from him years ago when I took his trident and became the Sea Witch that I am," she retorted curtly, but then she breathed out again to try to calm down. "I became more powerful than even the God of the Seas when I rid myself of my tail and traded it in for my tentacles. And I regret it more than I regret anything else. Except maybe for what I'm about to do now."

 _While Emma talked with her,_ _Killian thought back to what he believed would be his last conversation with Ursula while he struggled to remember if he had stayed with her, or walked away to brood over what he had learned like she told them he'd done, and saw himself as he walked the docks alongside her and her father, then stopped and looked at the villain he had wronged speaking quietly saying, "I suppose this is farewell."_

 _She nodded, looking between the pirate as well as her father while he walked on ahead of them, then she responded sincerely, "It is, but first, I have to hold up my end of the deal. Gold's plan… I'm afraid it involves Emma. She's the only way he can secure happy endings for the villains."_

 _"_ _Well, I thought he was gonna get the Author to rewrite everyone's stories?" Killian asked in confusion._

 _"_ _It's not that simple," she answered while she continued to look at the man still standing before her. "The Author can't just change things in this world because he didn't give everyone their happy endings here."_

 _Hook looked away from her as he replied with concern, "Emma did."_

 _He sighed as Ursula continued, "She's the Savior. And as long as there's a Savior, the Author can't give the villains what they really want. And the Dark One knows this."_

 _"_ _The Dark One's gonna try to kill Emma?" he said fearfully._

 _"_ _Worse… he plans to fill her heart with darkness forever," the woman responded remorsefully, as his fear for the woman he loved grew deeper, as did his anger for the demon who's haunted him for most of the two hundred years of his life._

Killian broke out of his memory when Ursula then threatened, "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt either of you, but Gold has given me no choice. I have to do as he ordered me to."

Emma shook her head when the Sea Witch let out her tentacles and she immediately raised her hands in order to use her power against the woman being forced against her will to hurt them. However, this time, the Savior hesitated to release her power out of fear from what happened the last time she had done so against one of the Queens of Darkness. Sadly, it was because of her hesitation that cost Killian his life within this round of the loop they continued to remain trapped in.

When Ursula suddenly wrapped one of her limbs tightly around her, Killian raced towards her to try to help her while he shouted, "Emma!"

"Killian… no!" the woman he loved cried out as the Sea Witch struck him with another of her arms and forced him back through the air until he landed roughly through the windshield of Emma's car. "No! Ursula, please… you can fight Gold. You're the daughter of a God and more powerful than Poseidon. That makes you more powerful than Gold too. Please let me go so I can save Killian. I can't let him die again."

"I'm so sorry," Ursula whispered regretfully, as she struggled against the Dark One's hold over her while she began to squeeze her tentacle more tightly around her, until she finally found the strength to resist his demand and then finally released the Savior so she could run to Hook.

Emma gasped when she could breathe again after she collapsed to her knees on the ground once she was freed, then she quickly stumbled over to her bug and ripped open the driver's side door where she found Killian lying still within the seats covered in glass and even worse… his blood. He was bleeding out from multiple cuts, including a deep wound within the small of his back where a large shard of the glass had become embedded. Emma reached out her hand to lay it down over his own as she leaned down to kiss his forehead upon seeing he was already gone, then held him the best she could while she silently cried, waiting for the light and the darkness that always followed to consume them once more.


	10. Chapter 10

The Dark Backward

Chapter Ten

When Emma awakened again like each time through the loop before, she slowly opened her eyes notwithstanding the pain in her head and stared wearily up at the stars in the sky above her while she remained lying on her back against the ground, her tears continuing to roll silently down her cheeks upon having to watch for the fourth time as the man she knew she loved deep down despite being unable to admit it to even herself died. Her fear from admitting she could find love with Killian had come into fruition far worse than any of the ways she could have imagined.

She closed her eyes and laid her hands over them as she began to weep aloud, unable to contain her grief any longer. Emma found she finally lost her strength to stand back on her feet so she could make her way back to Killian again, fearing she would only fail to save him and she couldn't bear watching him die anymore.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before David and Mary Margaret appeared again believing they would find their daughter taking a moment to catch her breath from all the running they had been doing trying to find the Author. However, her parents both ran to her once they saw Emma lying on the ground while she wept openly, completely unaware of anything that's happened.

"Emma?!" Mary Margaret cried once she reached her daughter and sat down in front of her, then gently pulled her up into her arms to hold her comfortingly, while David knelt down beside them as he laid his hand tenderly over the back of her head. "Are you hurt? What's happened? Please… please let us help you. Whatever's wrong… we can make it right."

"You can't," the Savior hopelessly whispered after she let out a few more sobs and then calmed down enough to be able to talk. "I've tried. Over and over, I've tried. I've watched him die four times now and I can't… I don't think I can do it again."

Her mother turned her eyes towards David in worry, then she tightened her embrace around Emma and asked, "What do you mean, Emma? Who's died?"

Emma finally pulled away as she wiped away the tears from her eyes and cheeks, then while she kept her eyes on the ground beneath her, she dismally replied, "Killian. First, when he protected me against Maleficent. He was struck in his back by her magic. Then, he was shot when we were in Granny's while we were surrounded by our friends. Killian was stabbed trying to protect Dad, and then… and then Ursula forced him through the windshield of my car. No matter how I try to keep him safe, death keeps chasing after him and I… I can't protect him."

"How did this all begin, Emma?" David then asked again with concern. "Have you been having recurring nightmares?"

"This isn't some terrifying nightmare repeating itself over and over in my head every night," she curtly snapped when she glared up at her father. "What's happening to us is real. You don't remember, but I've told you this before. Me and Killian are trapped in what I can only describe as a time loop after we were forced into this… twisted realm. Maleficent too."

Emma breathed in and out to calm herself again, then she added, "This night keeps on repeating just after Killian is killed. It must be because he was killed in the real world just before we were pulled through the portal. His death is the triggering point before everything happens all over again. Please… you have to believe me. I'm still angry at you for what you did to Maleficent and her child, but I'm putting my anger aside because… because I need you. I need you to help me save him and your help to get us out of here. I can't give up, but I can't do this alone."

David reached out to take her hand and squeezed it gently in understanding as he answered, "Of course we believe you, Emma. And we'll help you. If protecting Hook is how we break this loop you've become trapped in… then we will. Let's go find him. Do you have any idea where he might be right now?"

"Probably looking for me, feeling scared and confused," she quickly responded when she struggled to rise again to her feet until her parents both helped her up, then she nodded in gratitude before they finally headed back into town where they hoped they would find Hook in time.

In the meantime…

Maleficent found herself again within the cemetery outside of Regina's vault when she awoke after the darkness faded away to bring her back to the beginning of the loop. The villainess took a few minutes to regain her bearings once she stood, then waved her hand over herself to teleport aboard the Jolly Roger where she believed she would find the pirate captain upon him waking as well. She found Hook tying off one of the ship's sails to its main mast until he spun around to face her when she suddenly appeared.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Killian asked her coldly. "Do you have something to do with strangeness and the headache I feel, ever since I've awakened and found myself lying here on my ship's deck?"

The dragon sorceress kept her eyes trained on him while she collectedly replied, "I suppose I do to a degree. Although, it certainly wasn't my intention. Your Savior's also to blame as well."

Killian lowered his hand over the hilt of his sword and grasped it protectively without pulling the blade from its scabbard while he glared at her darkly as he retorted, "You're lying."

"You can relax, Captain," Maleficent said upon seeing him reaching for his weapon. "I'm not here to hurt you, or to continue placing the blame for this mess on Emma either. I'm here to try to prevent you from being killed again until she can get here to protect you herself."

"I don't understand," he answered warily, as his sense of concern only heightened upon hearing her reasoning for being there. "Why would I be in any danger? And why would you come here looking to protect me? We're on different sides."

She nodded in agreement, then she responded, "Yes we are. But then the strangeness you're feeling… the strange sense of déjà vu… it's because you, me, and Emma are all trapped in some kind of time loop that always ends with you being killed. We don't know why or how yet, but Emma and I have been somewhat working together to try to solve this mess. She'll confirm I'm telling you the truth once she gets here if you can't believe me. Not that I would blame you if you don't. Believe me, if it weren't for me being caught here, I wouldn't care what happens to you. I'm here for me… and me alone."

Killian let go of his cutlass and calmly he asked again, "If what you say is true, why can't I remember any of this when it's clear… that you do?"

The villainess shook her head, almost feeling remorse while she replied honestly, "I don't know. It's possible because you were already dead when we all became trapped here. A mistake I made when I attempted to kill the Savior out of anger instead. You got in the way protecting her. Somehow, you were revived here."

"And Emma's remembers all this too?" he then questioned sadly upon apprehending the kind of pain the woman he loved must be feeling right now if Maleficent's answer was yes, and watched her simply nod before he turned away from her to try to understand everything she's been telling him. "I feared as much. Do you know where she is now?"

"I'm not sure," Maleficent answered him again. "She usually comes to find you straight away, from wherever it is she comes from when she first wakes up. I always wake up lying on the ground within the cemetery outside of Regina's vault. Next time I see your Savior, I'll try to remember to ask her. Tell me something, Hook… how have you been able to stand living here day after day while trying to be some hero, with Gold walking free and clear after all the pain he's caused you for all the years you've both been alive?"

The Captain finally looked over at her again after he leaned over the side of his ship and responded, "That's only one of the reasons Emma is my Savior as you so snidely call her. She's saved me from myself. And while I haven't given up my hate for the bloody Dark One, she keeps me from becoming the man I used to be all over again. She could help you too if you would let her."

The sorceress laughed darkly, then she replied, "I'm not looking to be saved. Snow White and Prince Charming have to suffer for what they did to me and to my daughter. And once they do, then I will find some way to bring my daughter here to Storybrooke to be with her mother again so she won't have to feel so alone anymore."

"If we do get out of… whatever this hell is we're trapped in, and I do somehow survive, I will continue to help Emma to protect her parents from your revenge the best I can," Hook austerely answered her without waver.

"I don't doubt it," Maleficent haughtily responded.

And then, they both turned when they heard Emma calling out to Killian and saw her running into the harbor towards the Jolly Roger from the direction of town followed closely by her parents. However, she then stopped short once she reached the docks and let out a sigh of relief as she smiled upon seeing he was alright when Killian appeared atop of the gangplank. He smiled upon seeing her as well and was about to step down so he could join her, until all of a sudden, a streak of lightning came from out of nowhere as it struck the main mast, splitting it through the middle and catching the white sail on fire.

When Killian fell back against the deck as the ship rocked in the water at the impact, the Savior immediately ran forward while she screamed, "Killian!"

Maleficent also fell back, but as soon as she and Killian both raised their heads when the mast suddenly cracked in half and began to fall directly over him, the villainess raised her staff and emitted its power to create a force field over the pirate captain to try to protect him from being killed again. Once the mast crashed through the deck, the shield over him disappeared and Emma raced to him after she ran onto the deck, then helped him to stand so they could escape from the fire spreading across the Jolly Roger rapidly while she quickly nodded her thanks to Maleficent for saving Killian.

The sorceress was the first one off the burning ship as she made her way over to where David and Mary Margaret were waiting for them. Emma and Hook were about to follow, until ropes from the loose riggings hanging from the broken mast magically wrapped themselves around the ship's Captain and pulled him back down against the deck, then towards the fire as they were controlled by someone powerful.

The Savior fought against the riggings with her own magic trying to free him, while he struggled himself using his hook and his sword once he got it free from its scabbard to try to cut through them. David raced aboard so he could try to help them. Unfortunately, their efforts weren't enough, as the ropes only grew tighter around Killian's body and the flames finally reached its target when his legs caught fire, causing him to scream out in agony.

Emma cried out again, "No! Not again!"

"Em… Emma, please… please go!" he pleaded when he struggled to raise his head despite his pain in order to look up into her eyes. "Aah! You can save me again, Emma. You'll have… you'll have another chance. Go! David… take her!"

"No!" she shouted angrily, as her father finally complied with Killian's pleas when he wrapped his arms around his daughter, then pulled her back with him despite her fighting against him to get back to the man she loved. "Let me go! Killian!"

As soon as David managed to get Emma off the ship and back to where his wife and Maleficent were waiting for them, the Jolly Roger suddenly erupted into massive flames causing the ship to explode with Hook still onboard, while the sorceress raised another force field around herself and the heroes to protect them from the fire and debris.

Emma collapsed in agony and despair within her parents' arms upon losing Killian so horribly. However, it wasn't long before the white light engulfed her and Maleficent once again until the power keeping them trapped in this hell plunged them back into darkness. No one saw Gold watching the tragedy from a distance after he enchanted the ship to attack its Captain.


	11. Chapter 11

The Dark Backward

Chapter Eleven

Inside the Charmings' loft…

When Henry, Tinker Bell, and Leroy returned, Belle and Will both joined them wanting to help them find Regina, and what might have happened to Emma and Killian. Mary Margaret quickly checked on her son to make sure he was okay and still asleep when she and David stood up from their bed after he had been comforting her, then they all made their way into the living area of the apartment where they could continue to talk quietly. From the looks on their friends' faces, the Prince and Princess could both see that anything they learned from Gold wasn't good.

The teenager among them was the first to speak quietly so he wouldn't wake up his uncle as he stated, "Just as you probably expected, Gold wasn't all that helpful. He denied he knew anything about either of my moms' and Hook's disappearances. It's possible he was telling the truth, but I got the sense he was lying about something."

Belle lowered her head sadly, then she responded, "Henry's right. I sensed it too. I've known Rumple's been lying to me for some time now… even before the night I forced him across the town line. I just couldn't ever admit I knew until that night, especially when I saw him nearly crush Killian's heart. I couldn't accept it anymore and now I can feel when he lies whenever he's around. Except for when he came to me disguised as Killian. I really should have known it was him."

Mary Margaret laid her hand comfortingly on the beauty's knee, then turned her head to look over at Tink when the Green Fairy continued to talk. However, while the conversation continued around her, Belle couldn't stop her mind from drifting back to the last night she had seen her husband until he returned to Storybrooke again six weeks later along with the Queens of Darkness' under his thumb.

Six weeks ago at the town line…

 _"Belle… what are you doing?" Gold fearfully asked her once he teleported them both out there upon her demand as she kept his dagger grasped firmly and raised within her hand._

 _"Finally facing the truth," she replied crossly despite her tears, while she turned to the line and slowly backed the man she loved towards it._

 _The Dark One pleaded with her when he answered, "No. Please… put the dagger down and let me explain."_

 _The beauty curtly retorted, "No! It's my turn to talk. Do you remember the first time you saved my life?"_

 _"You traded for me," she continued as Gold nodded that he did in fact remember. "I thought I… I saw something in you, something good. Well… I found that gauntlet today. And that's when I… I finally realized that all the signs I'd been seeing were correct."_

 _"You'd never give up power for me, Rumple," Belle then said out of despair as her voice broke. "You never have. You never will."_

 _The Dark One stuttered while he kept his eyes focused on the woman he loved and tried to move closer to her until he stepped back again once she raised his dagger higher in front of her as he responded, "Y… Y… you don't understand."_

 _"No," she replied to him once again in frustration. "You told me that gauntlet could lead you to… to someone's weakness. To the thing they loved the most. Well… you know where it led me, Rumple? To the real dagger. Your true love is your power."_

 _He finally spoke again more freely when he answered, "I like the power. But there's nothing wrong with power. Not when it means that… that I… that we… that we can have it all."_

 _His wife shook her head as she responded sadly, "I just wanted you. I wanted to be chosen, not… I tried to be everything for you, Rumple. But I wasn't. And I… I lost my way trying to help you find yourself. Not anymore."_

 _"Please, Belle," Gold pleaded with her again. "I… I… I'll make it up to you. I… I… I've changed once before. I can do it again."_

 _"You've never changed," she replied with a dark chortle, shaking her head at his lies like before._

 _Her husband begged, "Please."_

 _Belle then forced him back further as she cried, "No! It's too late."_

 _"Once I… I saw the man behind the beast," she continued despairingly, being unable to hold back her sniffles. "Now there's only a beast."_

 _"Rumplestiltskin… I command you… to leave Storybrooke," the beauty ordered him at last when she raised the dagger higher once more._

 _The Dark One quickly glanced back and saw how close he had come up to the town line and then begged her again saying, "Belle, no. Please. I won't be able to come back."_

 _She began to cry as she answered, "I know."_

 _"I… I… I don't want to lose you," he continued, drawing nearer and nearer while she kept backing him further out._

 _"You already have," Belle responded through her tears as they flowed even harder than they were moments ago._

 _Once the villain was finally forced back across the line and through the protection spell over the town, then watched as the woman he loved turn her back on him while she continued to sob, Gold pleaded fearfully, "Belle, please… I'm afraid. Belle! Belle! No! Belle! Belle, please!"_

All of a sudden, Belle was pulled from her thoughts again when Mary Margaret noticed her mind had wondered off during their conversation, seeing a tear slip down her cheek from the corner of her eye, and she leaned in closely to the beauty as she whispered, "Belle… are you alright?"

"Yes… of course," the beauty immediately replied upon becoming startled when she finally heard her friend's voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drift off like that. Did I miss what you need me to do next for you to help us find them?"

"No," Mary Margaret answered her and took her hand into her own. "David and I are heading to Regina's house and vault to try to find her. Henry will stay here with Neal. You've already helped us plenty by talking to Gold for us."

The younger woman sighed sadly, then responded, "It didn't do us much good."

David looked over at her too as he replied, "You don't know that yet. We'll just have to wait and see. He may surprise us. Go home and get some sleep."

"All of you," the Prince quickly added when he turned to the others in the room with them.

"If you need anything… please don't hesitate to ask me," Belle whispered to the Prince and Princess before she followed Will and the others out, then said goodnight to everyone as they all left the apartment except for those who lived there.

After the others were all gone and he and Belle stepped outside onto the sidewalk outside of the borders of the white picket fence around the apartment building, the thief from Wonderland cleared his throat, then he nervously spoke out saying, "Belle… I um… there's been something I've been wanting to talk to you about. Something… I'll admit I've been a bit worried about talking to you about. Cause I've never really thought we've found the right time to."

She stopped walking so she could turn to face him and then questioned, "I think I know where this is going. And if I'm right, I will understand better than you think I would. You've been wanting to return to Wonderland. Am I right?"

"I think we both know we were never meant to be anything more than good friends," he answered with relief in his voice when he spoke again. "Believe me, I know what it's like to have a difficult time being in love with someone who's hurt you. The woman I love is still in Wonderland and while we're not together right now… I've always hoped we would be one day again. I still loved her back when she was the Evil Queen of Hearts. She's not anymore, but she's busy trying to regain the people's trust as their new Queen of Hearts. She needed some time apart from me is all. As for you and Gold…"

"I don't know what will happen between me and Rumple anymore," the beauty finished for him. "A part of me is holding onto the hope that he'll come to see the error of his ways and let go of his power for me. But I don't know if it's possible any longer. However, whether our love can withstand all this or not, I will still always love him."

Belle leaned in close to him and kissed him tenderly on his cheek before she continued sincerely, "I truly hope everything will work out between you and Anastasia, Will. And I couldn't be happier for you. You've been a good friend, whom I will always be grateful for and blessed to have had in my life when I needed you. Thank you."

He cleared his throat nervously again and then Will responded, "I'm happy to have met ya too. But don't worry… I won't be leaving right away. I want to be here to help our friends find the others first. And I want to make sure everything's goin' to be okay here in Storybrooke before I go. The Dark One isn't the only problem here. That dog hater and sorceress are trouble too."

"You have no idea," she replied, then put her arm through his while they continued to walk as he walked her home. "See you tomorrow?"

"You betcha," Will answered once they reached her house. "Goodnight, Belle."


	12. Chapter 12

The Dark Backward

Chapter Twelve

Killian weakly awakened once more, finding himself within the harbor aboard the Jolly Roger. Yet unlike Emma and Maleficent, he also found he couldn't remember anything from his multiple times through the time loop before now, or that he was even trapped in one along with them, nor why he was laying on his ship's deck within the middle of the night and not in his bed within his quarters. All he knew was the intense headache he suddenly felt upon awakening and wondered if it could have been the cause of him passing out in the middle of his deck.

The Captain struggled to stand again, but after using his hook and the riggings tied to the main mast beside him to help him from the floor of the ship, he was finally back on his feet and he turned to retie the ropes around the mast in order to keep the riggings and the sail securely fastened before he did anything else.

He was just about finished, when Maleficent suddenly appeared behind him and Hook swiftly pulled his cutlass from its scabbard to protect himself against the sorceress. However, to his surprise, she didn't attack him. Instead, she just stood before him and waved her hand in order to knock the sword from his grasp as the blade was flung across the deck.

"What do you want?" Hook questioned her sternly while he kept his eyes trained on the villainess. "If you hope to use me in order to get to Emma…"

"Just relax, pirate," the sorceress retorted in frustration when he questioned her motives for being there like he had the last time through the loop, and knew she didn't really have the patience to answer any of his questions like before. "I'm not here to hurt you or your beloved Savior. If I was, you'd know it. But I don't have to answer anymore of your questions either. At least not now. So…"

All of a sudden, she emitted her power from the crystal in her staff towards the Captain as he was rendered unconscious like she had done before, just to keep him from talking to her or from trying to attack her as well for his own protection until Emma finally arrived to take over answering whatever his questions were for her so she wouldn't have to.

However, Maleficent had no idea how long it would take her to arrive this time, so she conjured an image within her crystal in hope she could discover where the Savior might be since she had never gotten the chance to ask her where she always awoke during their last time through the loop like she told Hook she would. Unfortunately, all she could tell from the other woman's surroundings was that she was somewhere within the middle of the woods. She could have been anywhere. At least until the sorceress saw Emma and her parents running past the well that she knew from a number of times she and the other Queens of Darkness had spoken with Gold somewhere more private upon their returns.

So, Maleficent raised her hand and teleported herself and the Savior's pirate to the heroes before they could run any further from the well, startling Emma enough to cause her to fall back against the ground until David and Mary Margaret rushed up behind her to help her when the villainess suddenly appeared directly in front of them.

David stood tall when he started to pull his service weapon from its holster while he glared at the sorceress and asked, "What are you doing here? If Gold's sent you to find the Author for him…"

Maleficent interrupted, "I didn't come for the Author. I came here to deliver the pirate to Emma for her."

"Killian," the Savior whispered fearfully when the villainess swiftly magicked him back on the ground at Emma's feet, as she swiftly bent down to help him sit up again once he slowly began to come to once more. "It's all right. I'm right here."

"Emma?" he questioned in confusion when he weakly turned his head and looked into her eyes. "What's happened? Maleficent…"

Before he could say anything more, Emma quickly answered, "Maleficent was only protecting you. Surprisingly. It's a long story. And I'll try to explain the best I can, but…"

She then looked up at the sorceress again and then whispered, "Thank you. For bringing him to me before anything could happen to him again. But how do we stop this? No matter what we've done…"

"Each loop always ends with your pirate's death no matter what we've done to try to prevent it," Maleficent finished for her when she knew what Emma was asking. "Honestly, I don't know how to stop it. We just have to keep trying and hopefully the longer we can keep him alive, the more our questions will be answered."

"There has to be answers in here… wherever we are… somewhere," the Savior continued again, then helped Killian to stand again, with both of her parents' help as they too were as confused by the conversation happening between their daughter and the villainess as he was.

Once he was on his feet again, Killian looked worryingly between the woman he loved and the villainess while he asked, "Emma… what's happening? What did she mean when she spoke of these time loops ending with my death?"

She looked at him again with concern as well and then responded, "I'm not really sure how to explain it anymore. You've always believed me and trusted me, but… There's a lot to explain."

"You can tell me anything," he softly replied. "Whatever's happening, of course I will believe you, Swan. You've seen me die then?"

"Yes," Emma stated sadly when she lowered her head and reached down to take his hand again into her own.

Killian nodded as he worked through what little he could piece together from the conversation moments ago between her and Maleficent, then asked again, "More than once I take it?"

She simply nodded the second time, then laid her head against his chest once he wrapped his free arm around her to comfort her while Killian turned his head to look over at David and Mary Margaret, as the Princess spoke up worryingly saying, "I'm not sure I understand what's going on here. We're all caught in some kind of time loop, which keeps repeating itself every time something terrible happens to Hook? But why him? And is it always the same?"

"Only Emma, Hook, and me are trapped here in this twisted realm," Maleficent curtly answered her. "We fell through a new kind of portal that somehow opened up when we attacked each other. And from what little we've been able to piece together ourselves, the rest of you aren't actually real. You're only shadows of this world. That's why you don't ever remember anything."

"Neither does Hook and yet you're saying he's trapped here too," David retorted. "We're as real as you."

The villainess raised her hand as she was about to lash out at him in frustration using her magic, until Emma saw this when she opened her eyes again and immediately pulled away from Killian while she shouted, "Enough! I don't know what all is happening here, or whether any of you aside from the three of us are real or not. I only know that we should work together if we're going to have any kind of chance of escaping this loop and getting back to what I know is real. I don't know how long I can keep watching Killian die before I can't take it any longer and completely break. I've already had enough, but I haven't given up just yet. So… no more fighting amongst ourselves. Maleficent is still a villain, yes… But she wants out of here as much as Killian and I do. And she's been helping us so far. So, Mom and Dad… you have to deal with it. If you can't, just go home."

Finally, Emma and Killian began to walk hand in hand in the direction of town again without another word to the others, while Maleficent and finally David and Mary Margaret followed after them. It took awhile for them to make it back, but once they did, Emma suddenly saw the same stranger she had seen once before inside Granny's Diner their first time through the loop when Killian had been shot, as he was standing in front of the library's doors watching them upon their arrival.

Emma immediately started running towards him upon getting a strange sense like before that this stranger wasn't a part of this world like everyone else here were and that he was quite possibly someone who was just as trapped as she, Killian, and Maleficent were too. But as soon as she started towards him, the stranger swiftly ran inside the library so he could make his way up to the clock tower.

However, the Savior, pirate, and sorceress didn't get much further, when their path towards the clock tower was barred by Gold as the Dark One appeared before them again to keep them back. Emma was about to question him about what he wanted, until he strangely vanished from before them, but then suddenly reappeared again behind Killian and used his power to begin to choke his enemy.

Emma raised her hands to try to defend Killian while she cried out, "Gold… stop! What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm taking myself a little leverage so I can use him against you heroes and traitors should you attempt to keep me from getting everything that I want from the Author," he responded coldly, then forced the Savior's parents off their feet as he flung them back through the air behind them, and did the same to Maleficent so he could face off against Emma alone.

"Please… just let him go," she pleaded with him in fear for Killian's life once more as Gold continued to squeeze while the pirate struggled to keep himself from blacking out against the strain around his throat. "You're killing him. You don't need leverage against us to help you get what you want. You already have the Author and you plan to use him to rewrite happy endings for yourself and the other villains here. Which means you probably plan to write new unhappy endings for the rest of us. You have all the leverage you need. Just let Hook go."

The Dark One smiled darkly, then loosened his grasp around Killian's neck while he replied, "I may have the Author, Savior… But we both know you won't give up trying to stop me from getting everything I want unless I force your hand. And Hook here… he's the best choice among you heroes there is. On the night I stole his heart, back when he tried to protect you from me trapping you inside the Sorcerer's hat, he asked me how I could harm the mother of my own grandson. I didn't care about you, but Henry… He would never trust me if I killed his mother. Then a few days later, he told me I would be condemning Henry too if I helped the Snow Queen go through with her Curse of Shattered Sight, to which I had ordered him to kidnap him so I could take him and Belle with me away from Storybrooke once I finished crushing his heart. Oddly, I do somewhat care about Henry more than I care to admit, so you and Henry are not particularly the best of choices. You appear to be angry with your parents at the moment, so I doubt they're of much worth. And Maleficent is a villain. Besides… if what I've heard you say about this world not being real except for the three of you, it's clear he's the one person you care about most. Is this not true?"

No one except for Emma noticed as Killian carefully pulled a dagger from off of his belt until he lowered it in front of him while he kept his eyes on the woman he loved and despondently said to her, "Emma… you can find me again… Avoid this mom… moment after this loop re… restarts. I trust you. And… I'm sorry."

All of a sudden, Killian plunged the dagger into his own chest in order to break free from his oldest enemy's grasp once and for all upon seeing no other choice except to become the Dark One's prisoner, as Emma screamed. She immediately rushed to him once he fell against the ground when Gold stepped back with a look of surprise by what Hook had just done on his face.

Like before, Emma attempted to heal him, though she was always too late. Just like she was this time as well. Everyone had forgotten about the stranger once this showdown began and therefore no one saw him looking down on them from above inside the clock tower as the pirate captain died once again within his love's arms while she wept over his body, until the bright white light overwhelmed them all to restart the time loop once more.


	13. Chapter 13

The Dark Backward

Chapter Thirteen

Outside of the time loop…

While Henry remained behind to take care of his uncle at his grandparents' loft, Mary Margaret and David headed to Regina's house in hope she was there safe and sound, possibly trying to figure out a way to help them stop the villains the closer they came to learning of their plans. Unfortunately, they discovered she wasn't there and so they continued their search as the Charmings walked from the mansion towards the cemetery to her vault. However, they suddenly came face to face with Cruella once they arrived and David quickly pulled his gun and aimed it directly at the vile woman believing her to be a threat to them should she attack, since none of the heroes knew yet of her inability to kill.

From behind her, Pongo stepped out and moved to stand beside her now that he had been put under her control, then began to growl at the Prince and Princess, seeing them as a threat instead of friends, and Mary Margaret kept her eyes on the villainess while she asked, "What have you done to him? How did you even get your hands on Pongo? Did you hurt Archie?"

Cruella scoffed, then she replied, "Don't worry about this beast's master, darlings. He's perfectly fine. Luckily for him and each of you my power only works on animals. How unfortunate for them both that the cricket chose a short time ago to take his dog for a walk. The cricket…"

"It's a pity he isn't actually a cricket," she crossly added, speaking more to herself or possibly the dalmatian when she looked down at Pongo again.

"What are you after?" David questioned her once again in frustration, keeping his service weapon trained on her still while his wife remained close by his side. "Why did you feel the need to put Pongo under your control, and why are you lurking around here in the cemetery?"

The other woman with black and white hair responded, "I could ask the same of you. I was here looking for Gold. Now that our alliances have fallen apart thanks to Ursula becoming a traitor when she chose to side with you all and revealed our plans to that pirate… You know what? I don't have to explain my reason for being here to the likes of you. Or for taking control of this mutt. Step aside and let me pass, and I won't sick the mongrel on either of you."

Mary Margaret spoke again as she asked, "Do you know where Regina is? Are you or Gold responsible for her having gone missing?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cruella answered her with a lie. "If Her Majesty is missing, you might want to get back to looking for her. Now, lower your pistol, let me pass with the cricket's beast still in my control, and there won't be a problem here."

"There will always be a problem between us, Cruella," David replied in frustration, as he and Mary Margaret stepped aside in order to let the villainess pass along with their friend's dog out of worry she might hurt him if they didn't. "If you hurt him just like if you were to hurt anyone else, you'll regret it. I promise you that."

She scoffed again and then walked on by them while she responded, "I would expect nothing less, darling. Good night. And good luck hunting."

Once Cruella was gone after she left the cemetery, Mary Margaret stated, "She may not have anything to do with Regina's abduction, David. But she knows where she is. We shouldn't have just let her go. Especially not with Pongo under her control."

"Don't worry," her husband then assured her once he lowered his gun and placed it safely back into its holster he wore on his belt. "Pongo will be okay for now. She wants to use him for whatever she's going to do next. Right now, we have to focus on Emma and Regina and my gut's telling me she's been in her vault all along. Come on."

Together, they both ran the rest of the way to the Queen's vault and quickly made their way inside until they entered the hidden room beneath the crypt and found their friend inside like David suspected, her wrists bound together in shackles while she remained sitting down against the wall beside her magic mirror.

"Regina!" Mary Margaret cried out in relief upon seeing her friend again and at least appearing to be unharmed. "Thank God… Are you alright?"

"If you count being imprisoned by Rumplestiltskin within your own vault and having someone you love threatened okay, then yeah… I'm fine," the Queen retorted angrily, then raised her arms out to David when he leaned over her to try to help her break free. "You're not going to get them off. Gold enchanted them. At least until morning. But don't worry about me right now. It's Emma who's in trouble. Hook too, only… I'm afraid…"

Mary Margaret saw the sadness in her eyes when she started to talk about their friend until she cut herself off when she was unsure how to tell them about what Gold had said to her about him, and then the Princess asked, "Regina… what is it? Did Gold have something to do with the portal that Emma, Hook, and Maleficent were pulled into?"

Regina looked up at them again sadly when she finally answered, "I'm afraid so. He was there watching whatever went on between Emma, Hook, and Maleficent, but that isn't all. I mean… he did open the portal, but I don't think he was responsible for whatever might have happened to Hook. Gold told me Hook is dead. That he was killed protecting Emma from Maleficent's attack. I looked into his eyes and I don't believe he was lying. He had no reason to lie to me about that."

"No, that's… that can't be true," Mary Margaret whispered in despair when she and David thought of the grief and pain their daughter must be feeling wherever she was right now if it was.

"I'm afraid her grief over Hook's death must have been what allowed for Gold to open the portal Emma and Maleficent were both pulled into," Regina continued when she stood up to try to stretch her legs a little. "He didn't exactly share much detail other than that. He didn't have the chance to. He was sent a text on his phone and then he left."

David turned away as he glanced over at the Queen's magic mirror, suddenly giving him an idea, so he turned back to Regina again as he asked, "Can you use your mirror to show us what happened down there? Before I arrived with Tink and Leroy. It could help us discover a possible way to reopen the portal again so we can bring Emma back home."

Regina raised her wrists bound within the shackles again as she replied, "Unless you can find some way to remove these shackles, I'm afraid I'm completely powerless. They're blocking my magic. But Gold said I would be free come morning. If you come back then, I can see if I can activate my mirror's magic for you then if you haven't found a way to bring them back home before then. I'm so sorry."

"I just can't believe Hook's gone," Mary Margaret responded sadly. "After all he's done for Emma… for all of us. He didn't deserve to die. It's not fair."

"He was protecting Emma," David answered remorsefully. "Like Gold told Regina. At least it happened on his own terms and not him being killed because of a sin from his past. It's strange… I saw Hook getting pulled into the portal along with Emma and Maleficent. I had no idea he was already dead. I had hoped I would have a chance to pay him back one day for saving my life back in Neverland. I should have much sooner and now it's too late."

Mary Margaret laid her hand over the back of his shoulders as she comforted him and then she replied, "You can by helping Emma get back home and then with us fighting to regain her trust and love again. Hook assured us he would do everything he could to help her understand how much she needs us. Now we have to do that ourselves. For him."

She looked over at Regina again and saw a sadness in her eyes that she was trying to hide from them, but somehow recognized it wasn't because of Hook, so she then reached out to lay her other hand over her stepmother's arm while she asked, "Regina… what's wrong? Other than what's happened to Hook and Emma? Don't think that I don't recognize the look you're trying to keep something from us in our eyes. Did Gold tell you something else?"

"I wasn't going to say anything to you until I got out of here and until Emma was home safe," Regina responded, then let out a sigh of frustration. "I know how worried Henry must be for her right now. I didn't want him or you to worry about me too."

"What is it?" David questioned again.

The Queen finally just nodded and then she answered, "It's Robin. He's in trouble and Gold proved it by having me call the number I have for him from since he left Storybrooke and settled in at Neal's old place in New York. Only… it wasn't Robin who answered. It was Marian. Or more precisely… my sister, Zelena."

David and Mary Margaret looked at her in disbelief until she quickly continued, "It turns out Zelena didn't die after all like we believed she did. Even Gold was surprised. But they've come to some kind of understanding with one another. I have to help him, or she might hurt Robin and even Roland. But get back to helping Emma. I'll be there as soon as I can be and we'll get her back… somehow. Then we can all help save Robin too."


	14. Chapter 14

The Dark Backward

Chapter Fourteen

Emma, Killian, and Maleficent continued falling through several more loops no matter what they did to try to change it… the circumstances of Killian's deaths occurring differently each time, though certainly no less painfully than the last. For Emma both mentally and emotionally, and for Killian physically as well. For Emma, being forced to see Killian die again and again was slowly killing her. And it broke Killian's heart to see the woman he loved so shattered and angry, while a small part of him was touched upon seeing how much his life has meant to her even if she couldn't admit she loved him yet like he's admitted to her. He could feel in his heart she did and for now it was enough.

There was also something Killian sensed in Emma each time through that she couldn't bring herself to tell him about once she would tell him about what's been happening to them. But he didn't ever push her to talk about whatever was troubling her because he hoped she would eventually tell him in her own time. The Savior knew it and she appreciated it. His patience with her and her insecurities was one of the many things she loved most about him. And in these circumstances, it finally allowed for her to find the courage to do so at last.

"Killian… before we move on from here, or talk about anything else… I know you've been sensing I'm upset with you," Emma finally said to him worryingly once she made it back to the Jolly Roger again to find him the next time they awoke, shared again with him the truth about her having to watch him die over and over, then brought him back to her car where they could sit alone as they talked and without going anywhere so they could avoid getting into any kind of accident while Maleficent stayed with her parents begrudgingly. "And I am, but not because you've really done anything wrong. I mean… ugh… Maybe I shouldn't try to…"

"Whatever's troubling you, love… you can tell me," Killian responded gently, when he reached out to lay his hand over her own to offer her comfort. "If I've done something to upset you, I am sorry."

She smiled at him sadly and then she answered, "We've been through this loop countless times now and the truth is I've lost track. And I've failed to save you every time. But that's not all I've been upset about. I know… it might sound selfish of me that I feel this way, but there was one time through that you killed yourself because you trusted me enough to believe the loop would reset. You were attacked by Gold and he was choking you… as I saw him do once before when we first confronted him in the Enchanted Forest during the time travel debacle… and we were caught in a no win situation. He wanted to use you against us. My point is… you killed yourself. And then you did so again two other times through since. On top of that, you've died protecting me and my parents a number of times too and… I can't take it any longer, Killian. I just… I just can't. Watching you die over and over no matter what we do to try to protect you is hard enough, but to watch you die after you sacrifice yourself for me… It's even worse because I can't save you."

Killian pulled his hand away from hers and raised it to her face so he could wipe away a tear that slipped from her eye, then tenderly began to caress her cheek while he whispered, "You have saved me, Emma. From the man I used to me and that's what is most important. As for this time loop we're trapped in, you will save me from death too. I believe in you. You have to believe in yourself. No matter how difficult it is for you. And if you wish to understand why I must have felt killing myself while trapped under Gold's control was necessary, it's because I've been under his control twice before. Back when I blackmailed Gold into giving me my hand back, then did as he wanted of me in order to get him to remove it again. And the second time being because he ripped out my heart and used me to help him to nearly destroy you during the Snow Queen's reign. Both times were of my own doing and they nearly destroyed me. They would have, had you not forgiven me. I couldn't allow Gold to ever use me again. I won't."

"Oh, Killian… I should have understood that," she finally replied, then reached up to pull his hand back down so she could hold it again. "And I do. Just so you know, I forgave you because you're a good man, who only did the things you did because you wanted to be a better man than you could ever see in yourself. Something I know you still struggle with every day. But I don't. It'll become easier for you too. Now… come on. We should get back to Maleficent before she gets impatient or angry enough to kill Mom and Dad, even if they aren't real."

"Aye," he stated as he looked up into her eyes again and nodded. "You're not wrong."

Once they got out of the yellow bug parked down the street from Granny's and then returned to the Savior's parents and the villainess where they were waiting for them outside of the Charmings' loft, Maleficent glared between the lovers as she asked curtly, "Are you two finally finished? Can we actually find this stranger you think might be the key to getting out of here now, Emma?"

Emma glanced over at Killian as she blushed and laughed when he smiled at her, then together they walked down the street towards the clock tower where they suspected he might be hiding while he continued to watch over them. Finally, they reached the library again without another surprise attack appearing to hurt Killian and just like they hoped, the stranger was inside waiting for them among the stacks of books.

He smiled at them haughtily when they entered and before they could talk, he spoke first saying, "It's about time each of you reached me without this pirate here being killed."

"We could have reached you a lot sooner had you actually allowed us to and not kept hiding from us," Emma responded angrily while she and the others with her glared at him. "Who are you? And why have you been hiding? I'm guessing you're not a part of this twisted world, or whatever the hell it is we're trapped in."

"This realm is known as the Dark Backward," the stranger coolly answered her when he sat down on top of one of the tables beyond the main room. "A twisted reality as you say, where time passes in a constant loop connected to all those who are truly trapped here. Though not to those who are like shadows conjured to keep you from escaping. Shadows… like everyone in here whom you have ever come into contact with since you've arrived, Savior."

Hook glared at him darkly as he asked, "How do you know so much about who we are and this place? You never answered Emma's questions… who are you, and why have you been hiding from us if you're really looking to escape as well?"

He stood tall in front of Killian and then replied, "Because the truth is I am a villain as dark as the villainess you are already working with, if not even more cruel. I didn't allow you to find me because I didn't believe you would listen to what I have to say or trust in me enough to let me join you. Not that I would blame you. I was trapped in this reality some time ago by the Dark One… Rumplestiltskin. I don't know how he did it. And I haven't found a way out of here since, but I do know how to if we can find the doorway."

"The doorway?" Emma questioned hopefully. "You know how we can escape from this world? Please… we don't care who you are right now, or how you found your way in here. So long as we can get out of here."

"If you've really been trapped in here all this time, what kind of nightmare have you been forced to relive over and over?" Maleficent curtly asked him before the other villain could respond.

The stranger to them looked at the beautiful sorceress as he answered, "It doesn't really matter anymore. Everything has changed since you three have arrived. Now… I've been reliving your nightmares with you and will continue to do so until we find our way out. You will forgive me for spying. I had to know for sure I could trust you myself."

He then turned to Emma and Killian again while he less than sincerely added, "And I hope you can forgive me for being the one to fire the shot that killed your boyfriend here in your first time through the loop."

"That was you?" Emma darkly asked him and attempted to strike his face until Killian immediately held her back to protect her. "I saw you there. Yet I made you out to be nothing but a trick of my mind because I was upset and in pain, that's only worsening the longer we're trapped in here. You killed him!"

"I killed him just once," the villain replied haughtily. "I had to test what I suspected might trigger the reset once your arrival changed what usually triggered them in my former reality. I overheard you talking and made an estimated guess. It turns out I was right. I've been watching you ever since."

Before Emma could lash out at him again, David finally spoke up first as he responded in frustration, "If you know how to help Emma and Hook get out of here, then tell us what we need to know."

The stranger glanced over at the Prince whom he knew wasn't one of those trapped inside the Dark Backward with him, then turned back to those who were again and answered, "After remaining trapped for quite some time, I finally pieced together that there is an exit point somewhere around here. Only I've never found it. An exit point I hear is called, a mandala. A portal of sorts, though unlike any I have ever seen before. If you can find it and keep this pirate of yours alive when you reach it, you are home free. As for what's waiting for you on the other side… Well, I have no idea. Since I am still trapped here myself."

"All this time, and you've never found this mandala as you call it?" Hook retorted coldly while he continued to glare at the man he didn't trust even if he had admitted right away to being a villain.

"It's like I've told you, there are forces here in this twisted reality that are fighting to keep us all trapped here," the other villain aside from Maleficent replied coldly. "You've seen so for yourself… Hook. If you trust me about anything, it should be about this."

Once Emma thought over everything that's occurred since they've become trapped along with what they had just been told as quickly as she could, it dawned on her where the exit point might be and she turned to Killian and Maleficent again while she spoke anxiously saying, "The cave… where this mess all began. Where we fought until Gold must have been the one to trap us here using our own power to help him open up the portal which pulled us in… it must be where the mandala is. He must have been watching our confrontation and saw an opportunity to get rid of us like he got rid of this stranger too."

The other villain responded again, "And when I am finally free again, I will be seeking out the Dark One to make him pay for doing so."

"As much as we would all like to see Rumplestiltskin finally pay for all of his crimes, we won't allow you to seek out revenge against him because if you do, then only innocent people will wind up getting hurt," the Savior sternly answered as she looked into the stranger's eyes.

"You're protecting Rumplestiltskin?" he questioned her darkly. "You aren't much of a Savior if this is true."

Killian reached out to grab the stranger by the collar of his shirt in anger while he retorted, "You'll watch how you speak of her. You won't talk about her like you pretend to know anything about her. Is that clear?"

Emma laid her hands over the small of Killian's back as well as his right arm and calmingly pleaded, "Killian… don't. Please. It's okay. We don't know anything about him either and I don't care to. But we can't risk aggravating him. I hate to admit it, but we might need his help to escape from here. And I don't want to see you die again."

"I'm sorry, love," the man who loved her whispered when his eyes softened as he looked over into hers again, then stepped back away from the villain. "I know you're right."

"It's like Emma said, only innocent people will get hurt if we were to allow you to try to get your revenge against the Dark One," Hook continued as he turned back to face the villain again. "Take it from someone who knows better than anyone what happens when seeking revenge against Rumplestiltskin. If you wind up in the real Storybrooke when all of this is over and try, we will stop you."

The stranger glared at him, then finally nodded in understanding and replied, "You've made your point and I hear you, Captain. Well said. Shall we proceed to find the mandala where your Savior suspects it could be? In this cave?"

Emma, Killian, David, Maleficent, and Mary Margaret all turned and walked up to the elevator leading down to the caves beneath them as the Princess responded, "Thankfully, we don't have very far to go."

"And unfortunately, this way down is blocked by magic," the stranger said in frustration again. "Do you not think I have tried to get down into the tunnels and caves in search for the portal?"

"Emma… what would you say to us combining our powers again to see if they're powerful enough to break through the protection spell keeping us from entering?" Maleficent asked when she glanced over at the Savior again after she raised her hand to the elevator doors to test for any barriers herself. "We haven't come across any protection spells yet, so clearly the portal must be there. Our powers together may be powerful enough together to break through the barriers keeping us from going down there."

David looked over at her skeptically as he questioned, "Are you sure that's really a good idea? After all… doing that is what caused you to end up in this time loop in the first place."

Emma looked at Killian, who simply nodded at her to show he believed in her, then she turned again to the sorceress and answered, "I think you're right. I'm willing to give it a chance if you are."

"Let's do it then," Maleficent replied, then together she and the Savior raised their hands while Hook took the villainess' staff to hold it for her, and they unleashed their powers once more against the protection spell over the entryway into the cavern below until the doors opened when they succeeded in breaking through.

"Hopefully, that'll be the last time we have to do that," the Savior said again, then she stepped inside first, followed closely by Killian, the villainess, Emma's parents, and finally the stranger.

Once they arrived within the cave, a flower designed portal the stranger called a mandala shined before them in the very spot where Emma, Killian, and Maleficent had been pulled into the Dark Backward on the other side like they all hoped. The stranger let out a chortle upon seeing how close he was to returning to his own world, while he and the sorceress stepped ahead of the others to observe it more closely.

Killian spoke again quietly as he squeezed Emma's hand to offer her strength while saying, "It's almost beautiful… were it not for this portal being a source of all our troubles."

Emma looked over at him again and smiled, then she nodded in agreement and whispered, "You're right."

"It may be beautiful, but I'm afraid we can't allow any of you to pass through it so you can get home again," Mary Margaret then responded darkly, when David suddenly pulled his service weapon and aimed it directly at Killian's head as he prepared to pull the trigger by clicking off the safety.

"Mom… Dad?" the Savior questioned out of confusion and in worry as she and Killian turned around to face her parents, then her mother quickly pulled Hook's sword from its scabbard to back up the Prince. "What the hell are you doing?"

David answered coldly, "The Dark Backward is your home now, Emma. We need you to be our Savior now. It's the only way you'll be able to be with Hook if you insist on being with a pirate."

The shadow of Emma's father was about to shoot Killian, until all of a sudden, the stranger unleashed magic of his own from his hands to turn both this world's versions of her parents into ash and when Emma and Killian turned around to stare at him in shock by what just happened, he stated, "I warned you of the dangers here in this realm. All shadows of the people and monsters you think you know from your world here will stop at nothing to keep you from escaping. Including your parents. I suggest that you steer clear of them during your next time through this loop."

"The next time?" Hook asked when he sensed a dark turn in the villain's motives, then knelt to the ground in order to pick up his cutlass from the ground and before he could raise it up to defend Emma and himself, he used his power to freeze the two heroes and the sorceress in place.

"That's right, Captain," he replied smugly, then waved his hand over himself in order to reveal to them his true self. "Forgive me for my deception. It was a safety precaution. So the shadow of the Dark One wouldn't know who I was in case our paths crossed. I'm Dr. Facilier. A villain… just like I told you. A witchdoctor well practiced in the dark arts. And the rest of what I said was true too. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but I can't allow you to escape so you can keep me from going after the real Rumplestiltskin in case I find myself in your lovely town once I cross to the other side of this mandala. So… good luck to you. Goodbye."

Before his power wore off, the witchdoctor pulled out a needle and a straw doll from his inside coat pocket, then raised the piercing instrument and suddenly stabbed it through the doll's chest, causing Killian to gasp in pain as he fell to the ground like he had been stabbed through his heart to Emma's horror, while she cried out his name like so many times before upon seeing him die. She finally broke free of the spell and pulled him into her arms, while Maleficent broke free as well and immediately attempted to strike against Facilier. Unfortunately, he escaped through the portal just in time.

The sorceress turned back to Emma and Killian again while the Savior held the pirate in her arms as she cried over him, then started towards the portal to leave this world herself until something in her made her stop. A strange sense of remorse she never thought she would feel for any of Storybrooke's heroes, let alone them being who they were. The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, and the Savior's boyfriend. At last, the white light, then the darkness came for them like all the times before to return them to the beginning for what they hoped would be the last time through the time loop.


	15. Chapter 15

The Dark Backward

Chapter Fifteen

In Gold's shop, outside of the Dark Backward…

A short time after Gold left Granny's, he returned to the cabin where he safely secured the new to be villain, before he returned to his shop to collect a few items for himself and the Author, until the Dark One looked up upon hearing the bell over his door ring as someone entered and Cruella walked inside as she stated, "Here you are. Ever since our alliance has broken up, you've made yourself rather scarce, darling."

Gold stood straight as he looked at the villainess and coldly answered, "And you've proven yourself to be of no more use to me, just like Maleficent and Ursula have. Before the Sea Witch betrayed us and joined the side of the heroes that is. If you've come here to make sure I will be keeping up with my end of our bargain despite you turning out to be a bitter disappointment, Cruella… worry not. You will have your happy ending. All villains will. Just like all heroes in this little town will get the storybook endings they deserve too."

"I see you've found yourself a new pet," he continued, when Pongo stepped out from behind the dog hater and began to growl at him as the dalmatian bared his teeth. "Is his former master dead?"

"Funny… you aren't the first to ask me that," she scoffed in reply. "No… the cricket's just fine. He and this mongrel were out walking, I used my influence on his doggie when I saw an opportunity, and here we are. Although, I did run into the Savior's parents out in the cemetery looking for Regina before I made my way here. I don't doubt they've probably found her by now. I hope you got whatever it was you wanted from her."

The Dark One smugly responded, "I will soon enough. She will do everything I want her to do for me from now on. Because I have the right leverage over her. It matters not if the Charmings have found her. They can't help her. Now… as for you, dearie…"

The villainess cut him off again as she interrupted, "You can save your breath, darling. I do believe that our alliance has long since come to an end. Remember? I don't have to do anything for you any longer. I have my own plans for the Savior. Don't worry, what I have in mind for her will assure that she becomes dark just like we both want."

"I hope so," Rumplestiltskin answered her. "However, whatever you plan to do I'm afraid will have to wait. Neither Miss. Swan nor her pirate are here in Storybrooke at the moment. Nor is Maleficent. God only knows when they'll return."

"I don't understand," Cruella replied while she stared at him again in confusion. "What do you mean they're not in town? The Princess and her charming husband mentioned Regina was missing, but they said nothing about their daughter or Hook having gone missing too. Where did they go?"

He grinned as he responded, "Let's just say… they're a little busy at the moment. I needed them distracted so I could find the Author and now that I have, it won't be long before we all get what we deserve. But like I said… they'll be back soon. Now go and leave me be. I have somewhere to be and I have much to do. Goodbye, dearie."

She sneered and then answered, "I have to say… it hasn't always been a pleasure working with you, Dark One. But it certainly did have its advantages. Ta ta, darling."

Meanwhile…

Henry was sitting at the kitchen table while he watched his uncle sleeping in his crib until the teenager finally stood up to make himself something to eat for dinner. He pulled out some meats and vegetables from the fridge in order to make himself a sandwich. However, he was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door and when he opened it to see who was coming by so late, he was surprised to see Archie and Marco both standing on the other side.

"Archie?" the boy questioned worryingly and quickly motioned for the men to come inside. "Marco? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

"Hi, Henry," the doctor said quietly, yet nervously once they entered and then took a seat on the couch in the living room beside his oldest friend. "I know it's late and I'm so sorry for coming by at this hour. However, I was really hoping to talk with your grandparents and your mother. Only… I see none of them are here right now."

Henry nodded as he looked between them and replied, "I'm afraid not. My mom's missing right now. Both of them. And Hook too. Grandma and Grandpa are out right now trying to find Regina, so they can work to find out what's happened to Emma and Hook. I'm only here because I'm taking care of Neal. Otherwise, I'd be out there too. I wish I could be. But… is everything okay with you?"

Marco spoke up for Archie saying, "Unfortunately not. We were on our way to visit with my son at the mansion while he continues to recover. But as we were walking, that woman… the cruel one with black and white hair… she appeared from nowhere and took Pongo from Archie."

"She put him under her thrall," Archie finally continued. "However it is she does it. I'm worried about him. I don't want to lose him to Cruella."

"Don't worry, Archie," his young patient responded assuredly. "Pongo's going to be alright. Cruella likes to put animals under her spell so she can use them for whatever she plans to use them for. She won't hurt him. I have to be here to take care of Neal tonight, but in the morning, I'll come by your office and we can discuss plans to go out looking for him."

The psychiatrist smiled at him and stated again, "Thank you, Henry. I'd appreciate that. I hope your mothers and Hook will be okay. I'm sure they will be."

The teenager nodded and smiled at him in gratitude, then he said, "I know."


	16. Chapter 16

The Dark Backward

Chapter Sixteen

Once more, inside the Dark Backward…

When Emma awoke again in the woods, she struggled to sit up and then to stand back on her feet. However, once she finally could, she started making her way to the well before this realm's version of her parents could find her again in case they even still existed now that the witchdoctor had killed them. She wasn't willing to take the chance of running into them again now that she knew what they were… or that they weren't really her parents and that they were dangerous like Facilier had warned them.

After she finally made it back to the well, she was grateful to see that Maleficent was waiting for her there liked the Savior hoped she would be, thanks to the sorceress knowing she always ran that way to get back into town to find Killian. And without a word, Maleficent quickly waved her hand, then transported them both back to the Jolly Roger to find Killian again before something more could happen to him again. Thankfully, it didn't take much for Emma to explain to him before he believed her like he always did, and they walked down off the ship as they headed straightaway for the library so they could find the portal in hope of getting home at last.

"So… how many times have you been through this loop where I've…?" Killian quietly began to ask Emma as they walked until he cut himself off before he mentioned he had died upon seeing the despair and exhaustion in his love's eyes.

"Too many times to count," she replied truthfully, and then felt his hand wrap around her own in comfort. "But then once… once is too many. I won't lose you again, Killian. Not this time. Not with us being so close. I can't… because if I do, I'm afraid I'm going to lose myself to the point of no coming back."

The man who loved her nodded as he answered, "Believe me, I understand better than you might think I do. I may not have watched you die, Swan. But I have watched a woman I loved once die too and it destroyed me even more so than how bad off I had been after Liam died in my arms. And now with Gold threatening to take you from me too… You're stronger than you believe you are. I promise to stay alive so I can keep trying to prove it to you every minute of every day if that's what you need from me. Even if you don't."

She stopped walking once they reached the clock tower, then turned to face the Captain beside her while she looked up into his eyes and responded softly, "When you look at me like you are right now, I can't help but believe you. And I do, Killian. We're almost home."

"Which is why we should keep moving and get down to that portal before tragedy strikes again," the villainess curtly said in frustration when she opened the library's doors for them and motioned for them to enter in front of her. "No more of this lovey dovey stuff until you're back in reality and nowhere around me."

"You're right," Emma replied awkwardly while she glanced over at Maleficent, then looked over at Killian again and smiled when she walked into the building ahead of him, as he followed behind her. "Let's get out of here."

Together, Emma and Maleficent unleashed their power once more against the protection spell over the elevator doors to break down the barriers and rode the lift down its shaft until they stepped out into the cavern below again at last, where ahead of them stood the open mandala alone like before. However, they knew better than to think they would just be able to pass through the portal without facing whatever danger was waiting for them. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the next danger appeared the closer they drew near to it.

When the mummified beast Hook had fought within this cave over a year ago after Regina had double crossed him during one of their schemes against the heroes, rose up from the ground, they all backed away and stared up at the creature as Emma stood protectively in front of Killian, then called out, "Uh… Maleficent… is that you?"

The sorceress glared up at her other self as she answered curtly, "Yeah… when I was in my undead form. I remember fighting Hook some time ago when I was like this."

The beast screeched loudly, then suddenly lashed out against Emma and Killian as she swung her arm wildly, forcing them back through the air until they landed roughly against the ground again. Maleficent immediately moved in between her and the heroes to face off against herself, then they both unleashed magic upon each other while she shouted back to the others to run to the portal.

They did like she asked, but stopped again before they passed through to wait for the sorceress who was fighting to protect them. Finally, Maleficent managed to strike against her and blasted the mummified beast back far enough away to give her the opening needed for her to join Emma and Hook. However, the creature roared and swiftly charged at Killian to kill him, until Emma and Maleficent both discharged their powers against it before it could strike the pirate captain down. In doing so, it suddenly burst into ash above them and they covered their heads.

Once it was finally destroyed, Emma raised her head again to look over at Killian and smiled as he smiled at her as well, then the Savior turned to Maleficent again while she spoke sincerely saying, "Thank you, Maleficent. For protecting us."

"It's like I told your pirate before, I've been doing all of this only for myself," she coldly responded. "Now let's get out of this hell."

"Emma… what is it?" Killian then asked her after the sorceress passed through the portal first and was about to follow after her until he saw a sudden fear in his love's eyes. "We've won and I'm alive."

"Yes, but… but what if you're not once we pass through this portal?" the Savior replied fearfully when she turned her head to look again into his eyes. "Killian… you were dead when we arrived here. What if… when we pass through again, you die all over again? What if this time… there's no bringing you back again? How can I go through all of this, just to lose you one last time?"

Before he said anything more, Killian pulled the woman he loved in close and lowered his head so he could kiss her, then when he finally pulled back, he looked deep into her eyes and she into his while he answered gently, "Whatever happens, don't ever forget how much I love you, Emma. I believe that my love for you… and the love you feel for me is powerful enough to change my fate. You're unsure how you truly feel for me and that's all right. My love for you is enough. But if I'm wrong… if you wake up again and find I'm not there, I need you to stay strong. To know that one day you will be okay again. You deserve to be happy. Remember… I will always be with you. I will be."

When Killian began to kiss her again, as tears fell once more from her eyes, he held her tenderly against his body and finally pushed her into the mandala while they passed through it together, then fell into nothing but complete darkness once the portal's light faded away all around them.

Beyond the Dark Backward, within their true realm…

Emma raised her hands in front of her to defend herself against whatever dark magic the sorceress was about to fire at her by her own power. However, as soon as Maleficent fired the ball of light at her, the Savior was suddenly shoved backwards hard against the cold, rocky ground. Only her head didn't strike the ground, as she had been protected by the hand of the person who protected her. And when she weakly opened her eyes once her breath from being barreled into came back to her while she turned her eyes to see who was now lying completely still on top of her, the Savior was terrified to discover it was Killian. Especially knowing the dark magic had stuck him instead.

While Emma laid beneath him, every memory from their time trapped within the Dark Backward suddenly flooded through her mind again and she finally struggled to sit up as she pulled herself out from under the hero who saved her once more upon realizing they had been returned to the pivotal moment that began the chaos. A few feet away, Maleficent immediately lowered her hands upon seeing she had just fired her power against Hook like she had done before, then stared down on them in shock from waking up in that same moment.

Emma rolled Killian onto his back as she cried, and raised her hands to his face, pleading with him to come back to her. And then, much to her surprise, Killian suddenly gasped when he awoke, then struggled to breathe through the pain while he looked up weakly into her eyes and smiled.

She stared down at him in disbelief until she whispered, "Killian? You're… you're alive?"

"Aye… I told you our love was powerful enough to change… to change my fate," Killian unwaveringly responded to her, then the woman he loved carefully helped him to sit up. "I remember everything. I'm not sure how, but you and your magic are stronger than you've ever been able to believe. I could feel your power flowing through me once we collided. And… I'm a survivor."

"Emma!" David then shouted out to his daughter when he came running towards them from the elevator several feet away, followed closely by Tinker Bell and Leroy as they immediately moved to stand protectively in front Emma and Hook while facing Maleficent. "Are you alright?"

The sorceress looked at them as she stated, "You don't have to worry. I'm not going to hurt Emma or her pirate again. I've seen enough pain for one day… or several."

With that said, she suddenly vanished from before them before anyone other than Emma or Killian could make any sense of her words. David then turned around to face his daughter and Hook and waited to talk to her as she continued to embrace the man she was falling in love with even more now than she could understand she'd been before.

At last, Emma looked over at her father and their friends again as she spoke up softly saying, "We're fine. Thank you… for ignoring my request for you not to follow me. I really mean that. Tink… Leroy… thank you too. And Dad… you can go back to tell Mom everything's fine. What's happened is a really long story. But for now… just let her know I'll be staying with Killian for awhile. Aboard the Jolly Roger. If we're going to get through the strain that's fallen between us, I need some space. And I need time."

"I hope your offer's still…" she quickly added when she turned around to look into Killian's eyes again until he cut her off.

"Of course you're welcome to stay with me for as long as you would like, Swan," Killian whispered to her when he did so. "So long as you're certain this is really what you want?"

The Savior smiled and leaned in to kiss him again, then she replied, "It is. I've watched you die too many times tonight, Killian… Or for however long we were trapped in there. But you've also proven to me you're a survivor when you stayed with me in a time it really counted and when I needed you most. You've put my fears of losing you to rest. Not to mention you've also saved me from completely losing myself to the darkness like I feared I had. I want to be with the person I trust the most and right now… For a long time that's been you."

When Emma and Killian turned around then to face David again, Charming let out a quiet sigh and then he said, "I don't understand any of what either of you have been through, so I hope you will come over to our place soon to tell us everything. But until you do… I do understand your decision, Emma. So will your mother even if it hurts us. We hurt you too because we did something terrible. Of course we understand."

"Thank you," his daughter answered her father in sincerity, then hugged both Grumpy and Tinker Bell in gratitude for them coming down to make sure they would be okay before they walked out of the cave together to return to the streets above.

Later, on their way back to the Jolly Roger again, they passed by Gold's shop and discovered he was inside when they looked through the window, then walked in as Emma used her magic to open the locked door. The Dark One turned around then to face them, a little surprised by their sudden intrusion.

"Miss. Swan… and Captain… my shop is still closed, so what brings you here?" he asked them frankly. "And at this late hour?"

The Savior looked at the villain coldly as she responded, "Killian and I know you were down in the cave tonight watching my confrontation with Maleficent and then saw when Killian was almost killed. But like everyone else… what you don't know is that you were much closer to succeeding in getting everything you wanted tonight than you know. Your plan to send us into the Dark Backward worked, but we defeated it and made it back home. That is if you planned to open a portal to the Dark Backward all along. It might have just been a spur of the moment decision. But my point is… you failed to darken my heart again because Killian's still alive. If you ever hurt anyone I care about again to try to get what you want, you will regret it."

Gold looked at her sternly and then he replied, "I've no idea what you mean, Savior. But I'll heed your warning. Was that all?"

"Actually… no," Hook answered darkly before Emma could say anything more when he felt her body stiffen. "There was another villain you've apparently doubled crossed whom we ran into also trapped there. A witchdoctor who called himself Facilier. He might not be here yet, but he is seeking his own revenge against you. You've been fair warned."

"Indeed I have been, pirate," the villain responded.

Before any more words could be said, Gold suddenly vanished from his shop to return to the Author, leaving Emma and Hook behind once he had all he wanted from it. The Savior looked over at Killian again worryingly, then they finally left themselves to continue on towards the Jolly Roger.

Over the course of the next few days, a lot happened in Storybrooke. Some good and some bad. Cruella had been defeated, but at a heavy cost that once again nearly cost the Savior the goodness within her heart when she had been forced to kill the villainess without knowing the whole truth that she wasn't really a threat to her son.

However, Regina and Robin were reunited and the archer was free to return to Storybrooke upon the discovery that Marian was really Zelena in disguise after the true Marian had been killed years ago. Killian helped his love to find it in her heart again to forgive her parents at last for what they had done to Maleficent and Lily, and they too were reunited, making the sorceress no longer a threat. All they had left to do was to stop Gold and the Author from rewriting everyone's happy endings once and for all.

The End


	17. Thank You

Thank you to all who have read and have written reviews for my story! You are much appreciated. I am so incredibly grateful for your kindness and generosity. I'm deeply honored and I hope to hear from you all again, should you choose to read and enjoy more of my work. Best of wishes to you all!

Sincerely,

Genevieve Kelly


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